


Normalcy

by wiltedpleasures



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-18 12:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4705844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiltedpleasures/pseuds/wiltedpleasures
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the Wrath of the Lamb, the Verger-Bloom family relocates to a small unsuspecting neighborhood in the sleepy city of Westfield. It's pretty much an Addams family situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. a new beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I'm lowkey obsessed with the Verger-Bloom family living out an Addams family fantasy. The new town the Gothic goddesses has relocated to is Westfield, New Jersey which is the inspiration behind the Addams family household.

Ever since the Verger-Bloom family made the arrival at the quaint little town of Westfield, New Jersey, the whole neighborhood seemed right up their alley: wealthy and appeared normal. Alana and Margot craved normalcy after the ordeal they went through back at Baltimore. Their new home, a tattered and rickety three-story Victorian mansion on a hill with over 25 acres, did stick out a bit like a sore thumb. It was the only quick option available on the market due to the sudden escape from the Verger estate. Margot didn’t seem to mind, she insisted to her wife that improvements could be made to the house and new memories could be created.

That ideology evaporated from Margot’s mindset after a good two weeks. She was tired of hearing the hushed murmurs and questioning glances she got when she did the grocery shopping. She was tired of trying, desperately trying, to make some new friends with the neighbors when she picked lilacs for Alana outside the entrance gates. She was sick of it all. She didn’t even understand why people were so wary and questioning of them. She thought her family gave off a fairly good impression of a happy, normal family.

She couldn’t even rant about her problems with her wife, due to Alana being at work. Alana was a bit hesitant to open up her own psychiatry office, she of all people had the right to be wary of getting inside another person’s head again but Margot knew Alana had missed practicing so she encouraged her wife to follow her dream.

After the family ate dinner in their new dining room, the chandelier still covered with cobwebs and dust, the ladies of the house excused themselves to go upstairs for some much needed alone time as their son went outside to play with Applesauce, two security guards in tow. Margot had tried to melt into her wife’s touches and kisses but she still couldn’t shake the thought of the day’s events. She thought back to this morning, she had taken Applesauce for a walk around the neighborhood with Theo skipping along next to her when she had seen Mrs. Thorne, yet another stuck up neighbor, openly watching her with scornful eyes.

“Baby,” Alana starts which effectively causes Margot to snap back to reality, murmuring softly against Margot’s bare neck, her body hovering over the heiress’s. Margot turns her head swiftly, tugging lightly on the ends of Alana’s dark hair to prove she was paying attention.

“What’s on your mind? You’re thinking too loud,” Alana notes, pressing a final kiss to the younger woman’s neck before shifting up higher on the pillows. She pats the space on the bed next to her and Margot slides up next to the familiar bare body, arms wrapping around each other in a comfortable embrace.

They say nothing for a moment, content with just stroking each other’s warm skin and listening to the sounds of their child’s laughter from outside. Margot breaks this silence with a long sigh, lifting her head slightly to look into Alana’s eyes.

“Our neighbors are bitches,” she says simply, causing Alana to throw her head back on the headboard and laugh. Margot tries to narrow her eyes unamused but can’t, her wife’s laugh proving to be too contagious. Margot buries her head into Alana’s bare stomach, still shaking with laughter. “It’s not funny,” she mumbles, smiling a little.

Alana brushes her fingers through the heiress’s light brown waves. “It was kinda funny. But I know what you mean. I think half of my patients only come in on pure curiosity, just to see the buzz on me. On us,” Alana muses, propping her head up to look at the cobwebs blowing slightly from the fan on the ceiling.

Margot turns her head to meet her wife’s eyes, her head still laying on Alana’s stomach. “Why are they like that?” She was wondering what Alana’s theories were on the uptight neighbors.

Alana shrugs a little, her long raven-colored hair falling in loose waves around her bare breasts. “There isn’t a whole lot going on in Westfield. We’re new. We’re different. We live in a creepy old house that I heard was haunted from one of my patient’s kids. They probably think we’re witches,” Alana murmurs, one of her hands moving from Margot’s hair to touch her exposed round cheek. “You certainly look the part,” Alana teases while tapping Margot’s nose, prompting her to stick her tongue out playfully.

“Right back at you, witchy beauty” Margot replies, shifting to get up off the bed. She can feel Alana’s eyes watch her as she tugs a silky sheet free from the bed to wrap around her bare shoulders as she walks over to the window. She looks down at the yard, the grass still patchy with dirt and dead trees. This seems to be no problem for her son, who is playing catch with Applesauce.

She hears Alana come closer and press herself into Margot’s back. “As long as they say nothing about him, I can deal with bitchy neighbors,” Alana murmurs, peppering little kisses into the back of Margot’s head.

Margot sighs happily, tightening her grip on Alana’s arms wrapped around her middle. Margot had found a few books on witchcraft while digging through boxes for the house library. Perhaps the impression of witchcraft and haunted houses wasn’t so bad after all.


	2. the party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margot and Alana decide to throw a housewarming party to get better acquainted with the new neighbors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took this up as a request, so please feel free to give me more cute Marlana goth stuff to write! I don't know how many chapters will be in this series so I'll leave that open-ended.

Margot’s morning had started off wonderfully. First, she had woken up to Alana’s lips, kissing her lips and pecking little kisses around her cheeks and neck which caused Margot to fully wake up, giggling all the way to the door to see Alana out for work.

Then, Margot eased into her day by preparing her son’s breakfast and reading the paper over some coffee. After she enjoyed breakfast with her son, she had finally finished unpacking the family’s belongings in all the rooms. Sure, there was still countless repairs needed for the house and cobwebs seemed to hide in every corner of the house but secretly, Margot thought they gave a little attitude to the house. Theo seemed to like them too and loved putting on a sheet to play ghost with Margot around the house, with Applesauce tagging along by their feet.

Their routine follows schedule, with Theo tucked in for his daily afternoon nap around 2:30. Margot takes this time for a little alone time after dealing with the Verger business on her computer in the office upstairs, grabbing a witchcraft book from the library and settling into the window bay seat.

The heiress tries to indulge in the book of spells but outside some movement catches her eye. It was Mrs. Thorne, ripping out weeds from her garden outside her home across the street. Margot purses her lips, plotting and contemplating. Her last interaction with the crabby elderly woman hadn’t been pleasant, Margot could feel her daggers for eyes in her back the whole time she and her son enjoyed a walk around the neighborhood the other day.

With that, Margot snaps the book shut and heads downstairs. She tries to pretend she doesn’t know the neighbor is watching her as she walks down the gravel path to the mailbox outside the entrance gates. She pretends to be very interested in the psychiatry journal Alana received in the mail when she finally decides to follow through with her plan.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Thorne,” Margot calls, offering a little wave.

Mrs. Thorne looks up, startled that the other woman is even acknowledging her. She waves back, gardening tool still in hand.

“You know, my wife and son just moved in and I would love to get better acquainted with my new neighbors and I’m sure my son is just dying to play with your grandkids. Would you be interested in joining my family for a little housewarming party on Friday night?” Margot asks, false sweet smile intact.

 Mrs. Thorne squints, her wrinkly eyes shimmering in the sun. She purses her lips in contemplation, trying to see if Margot is being sincere. Once she decides she is being truthful, she simply replies “I suppose so.”

Margot smiles wide, pleased. “Great. If you would like, feel free to pass this along with the other neighbors or your friends, it would be a pleasure to get to know them as well. It’s at 6 o clock,” she answers, turning on her heel.

Suddenly, she gets another idea, grinning wickedly to herself. She makes sure to wipe off the grin before turning back around. The old woman is still staring at her but tries to look down at her garden to act as if she wasn’t.

“Oh and Mrs. Thorne? The theme is black and white. Well, mostly black. Just so you’re aware,” Margot informs, turning back around and heading for the mansion. She has to hide her grin with the mail, too amused with herself and her plans.

 

* * *

 

 

Alana arrives home right on time, she always tries to come home at a reasonable hour so she can play with Theo. They take a walk around the property with a couple security guards, it’s mainly just dirt paths and a forest of dead trees but her son still has a blast, skipping along the path as Applesauce tries to dart between his little legs.

Margot has her hand on Alana’s arm, her other hand intertwined with her wife’s. She enjoys the view for a moment before discussing the news of the spontaneous party with the other woman. “Guess what I did today?” Margot offers into the cool fall air, her breath appearing then disappearing.

“What’s that?” Alana asks, squeezing her wife’s gloved hand a little.

“I invited Mrs. Thorne to our house warming party,” Margot replies nonchalantly, looking at her wife’s face to see her reaction.

The psychiatrist simply raises her eyebrows a bit, looks at Margot with an adorably confused expression. “We’re having a housewarming party?” Alana asks, the chilly air making her hair wisp around in the wind.

Margot nods, using her free hand to tuck a stray piece of dark hair behind Alana’s ear. “Friday night. 6 o clock. Is your schedule booked, Dr. Bloom?” Margot asks teasingly.

The psychiatrist laughs, dropping her hand from her wife’s to wrap an arm around Margot’s shoulders. She presses a kiss to Margot’s temple, “Never for you.”

Margot nearly melts at her wife’s sweet words, until her son decides to tackle his mommies for a hug which causes them to tumble into a pile of colorful autumn leaves.

“You hear that, T? We’re gonna have a party!” Alana squeals, tickling Theo’s sides which causes him to erupt with giggles.

“Can I wear my skelly suit?” he asks pleadingly. Alana looks at Margot questioningly.

“He means his striped suit. With black and white stripes, like yours,” the other woman explains, picking a leaf out of her son’s light brown hair.

“Of course, baby. We’ll match,” Alana assures, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Did I mention our theme is black and white? Well, mostly black,” Margot asks with a coy smile. Alana laughs a little as she helps her son and wife up out of the leaves. Applesauce decides to stay in the leaf pile a little longer, rolling around happily as leaves stick in her golden brown spotted fur.

“This is not going to help the witch rumors. But I love it,” Alana murmurs, kissing her wife’s temple as the family heads back to the house.

 

* * *

 

 

Before Margot knew it, it was Friday and time for the Verger-Bloom house warming party. Margot had to admit, she was a bit nervous but only because she wanted an attempt at a normal life here in Westfield filled with normal, happy people. She just hoped the neighbors would get a better impression of her family through this party.

“You ready, honey?” Margot heard Alana call out from the master bedroom. The heiress was still trying to prepare herself mentally for the party in the adjoined master bathroom by running her fingers through her light brown hair.

“More than I’ll ever be,” she mutters as she exited the bathroom to meet with Alana, her black skirt billowing down her long legs.

“I heard that,” Alana says with a smile, her arms wrapping around her wife once Margot came into view. “You look stunning. Now let’s go slay this party,” Alana murmured, pressing a quick kiss to the younger woman’s lips.

“Did you just say ‘slay’?” Margot asks with an amused smile. Alana hides her blush in light brown curls as Margot tugs them out of the room.

“Not helping the witch rumors, darling” Margot replies as they stopped at the bottom of the grand staircase to take in the new house decorations.

The staff had done a wonderful job with the food preparation and organizing the dining room, it looked elegant and spooky all at the same time.

“Mommy! We match!” Theo exclaims, hugging Alana from behind. She opted for her white and black suit number, with her hair down in dark simple waves.

Alana picks him up in her arms and holds him close. “You look so dapper, buddy!” the other woman exclaims, swinging her hips a little so she could rock Theo, causing his shiny black loafers to click together.

Margot was melting at the sight of her wife and son’s adorable interaction before the doorbell rang. She shoots a quick nervous glance to Alana’s blue eyes, but Alana shoots her a reassuring smile back.

Once Margot answered the door, staff members collected the guest’s coats, children shuffling in to hunt down Theo and his toys, Alana pressed a hand to the small of Margot’s back. She had a smile plastered on, not entirely fake but also not her best one reserved just for her wife.

Welcomes are passed around and hands are being shook, Margot thinks this party isn’t nearly as bad as she thought it would be. Her eyes lock on Mrs. Thorne once she walks in with her husband, both elderly with squinting, wrinkly eyes. She offers a pressed smile as she walks up to welcome them.

“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Thorne,” Margot says, offering her hand to shake. “

Robert, please. Thanks for having us,” Robert Thorne says stiffly, shaking hands with Margot. The trio stand and stare in awkward silence for a few beats, Margot isn’t sure on a good conversation starter.

“Hi I’m Alana, it’s nice to finally meet you both and to put a face to that lovely garden of yours,” Alana says as she appears by Margot’s side suddenly, charming the couple at once. Margot holds in a breath, she still can’t believe how lucky she is to have Alana Bloom in her life.

“I’m Patricia Thorne and that would be my garden,” Patricia says, grateful that someone notices her gardening skills.

Margot listens as Alana and Patricia go on about the importance of fertilizer and what not, not having any interest at all besides the fact that Alana’s warm hand is rubbing little circles on her back.

Afterwards, once courses are served and guests have socialized with the ladies of the house, the party draws to a close. Alana ruffles her son’s hair once she passes him in the foyer, saying goodbye to his little friends.

“Dude, your moms are so much cooler than what my mom has been saying,” a little boy, probably the same age as Theo, says when he hugs their son goodbye which causes both mothers to smile.

“Mission accomplished,” Margot murmurs into Alana’s dark hair as the head upstairs to tuck their son in for bed, much later than his usual bedtime. The older woman helps change the boy into his pajamas, red cotton covered with little dog paw prints, a gift from Molly and Will as Margot sets up his bunny nightlight. “Night night, T” Alana whispers as she kisses one cheek and Margot kisses the other.

As the wives settle into bed, Alana choosing one of Margot’s nice button down shirts she wears for meetings and Margot wearing one of Alana’s large college shirts, they cuddle into each other on their large bed.

Margot enjoys the silence and her wife’s warm embrace as she thinks of the day’s events. “How’d you think the party went?” Alana asks, fingers skimming through silky brown curls.

 “Wonderful. I think the neighbors aren’t scared of us anymore. I’m glad Theo has some kids to play with here,” Margot muses, her cheek resting on top of Alana’s chest as she toys with one of the shirt’s button.

“I’m happy that he has friends too. Not that I don’t love parties or anything, but maybe next Friday we could have a date night? The Wizard of Oz is playing at that local theatre, maybe Theo would like to see it,” Alana proposes, rubbing a hand up and down Margot’s back.

“I bet Mrs. Thorne is playing the Wicked Witch,” Margot jokes, only half-kidding.

Alana chuckles, pressing a kiss into the other woman’s hairline. “We’re the witches of this town.”


	3. the surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margot dabbles in a little potion work with the help of Applesauce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for greeting this weird little series with open arms. I'm ecstatic that there's more people out there that love these Gothic goddesses as much as I do.

Winter was making its presence known, it seemed like each day the days got colder and the snow slowly started to pile up out in the front lawn. Margot looks out a frosted window as one of their staff shovels the snow from the driveway so Alana can back her car out successfully.

Margot had tried to persuade her wife to stay home, _in more ways than one_ , but the psychiatrist insisted that a little snow wouldn’t prevent her from seeing her patients. Margot waves to Alana as she backs out of the now cleared driveway, and drives out of the neighborhood gates. With a sad little sigh, she turns to go make some hot chocolate for her son.

The snow piled on and on, but that proved to be no problem for her son. Margot had stayed back inside, watching from a distance as a security guard helped Theo build a snowman outside with the abundant snow.

Assured that her son was safe and happy, she bounded up the stairs to the library. After dealing with a few errands for the Verger business in her office, Margot opened up one of the many books on witchcraft in the house library. She was just learning about potions in one of the abundant chapters in the thick book when she hears a knock at the door.

It was Phil, one of the many staff members on hand at the house. “Package for Mrs. Verger-Bloom,” he says, placing the large box on a nearby table in the library. “Heavy one.”

“Just a few more books for the library,” Margot lies, smiling warmly at the man. He returns the smile and turns away to head for the door, his thick black rubber boots echoing off the creaky wooden floors.

Margot wastes no time at all slicing open the box with a box cutter, she was excited to start brewing a few simple beginner potions she read about in her books. She had ordered a modest cauldron, copper and about the size of a watermelon.

Using a few ingredients she had picked from outside, sneakily “borrowed” a few items from Mrs. Thorne’s garden, and a few other concoctions Margot had created using her book’s recipes, the heiress started brewing her own potion.

She didn’t want the house to melt or to hurt herself, so she decided to create a simple potion for sleeping. Sometimes, Alana’s back hurt her in the night and it seemed like no amount of Tylenol or back rubs subsided her pain in the night. Margot makes sure to follow the instructions, written in ancient elegant cursive, very carefully to avoid any mistakes.

Suddenly, the witch-in-training heard a creak and little pitter patter of claws on the wooden floors. She turns around, stirring wand in hand, as Applesauce runs into the room and plops down at Margot’s feet.

“Silly girl, what are you in here for? Theo’s probably looking for you,” Margot muses, knowing the dog can’t possibly understand her but scratches behind Applesauce’s ears for good measure.

The heiress forgot all about the stirring wand in her other hand, whose liquid had sloshed a bit and dripped onto the dog’s fur. Right before her eyes, Margot watched in horror as Applesauce’s golden brown spotted fur turned to pure black.

“Shitshitshitshit,” Margot muttered in rapid succession, tossing the utensil onto the table in frustration. She takes the dog’s head in her hands, to look for any signs of pain or distress. Applesauce seemed to be absolutely fine, thrilled with the attention her owner is giving her.

Just as Margot starts debating dumping the cauldron in the dumpster and buying dog fur dye, she hears the front door slam. Margot listens to Alana enter their home, talking excitedly with their son about his day.

“Great,” Margot muttered, heading for the library door while trying to shut out Applesauce for the time being. Alana meets her there, Theo in her arms with his little arms around her neck, just as she tucks her head in between the door and the doorframe. Alana meets her nervous eyes, her light blue eyes questioning.

“Hi honey,” Margot says, reaching a hand out to poke her son’s cheek.

“Hello, dear. How was… your day?” Alana says, hesitating between words while her eyes dart between her wife’s green eyes and the little she can see of the library.

“It was great. We had a nice snow day here. What about you?” Margot asks, running a hand through her own hair, trying to look presentable.

Alana waits a few moments before answering the strange woman, her eyes still searching the other woman’s eyes for a clue. “It was fine. Not too many patients today so I mostly got a lot of paperwork done,” Alana explains as she helps Theo down from her arms. He skips over to the couch on the 2nd floor near the stairs, where his stuffed bunny is waiting.

Alana crosses her arms, eyes still a bit questioning as to way her wife hasn’t properly greeted her with a hello kiss. “It’s kind of a shame though. I didn’t get nearly all want I wanted to get finished with today.”

“What’s that?” Margot asks, shifting her weight onto her other foot.

Alana flicks her eyes back to her wife’s, a small mischievous smile on her face. “Reading. I’m just dying to read a new book,” Alana says, her face hovering inches away from Margot’s lips as she shoves open the door.

“Alana, wait!” Margot starts but it’s no use, Alana has pushed her way through the threshold and observes the library’s surroundings.

Margot gauges the other woman’s reaction, watching in horror as Alana eyes drop to the bubbling cauldron on the table. She can’t spend too much attention there because Applesauce leaps up and paws at her thighs.

“What on earth?” Alana says, bringing a hand to drag through the dog’s new sleek black fur. She looks back to Margot, her eyebrows raised in extreme confusion.

“Please don’t be mad, Alana. I didn’t mean for it to happen, it was an accident! I promise she’s okay. I just found a book on potions and wanted to give it a try it was stupid and I’m stupid and I-“ Margot rambles in a rapid tone, bringing her hands to point all around the room and then brings them to her hair to stressfully pull through the light brown strands. Her hands are met with even warmer hands, familiar fingers tangling in her hair as lips meet hers. Margot tries not to melt, moving her hands to hold onto her wife’s waist as her wife comforts her with her lips.

“It’s okay. As long as no one got hurt, I’m fine with it. You’re not stupid, you’re far from it. And I like the new look,” Alana says once she breaks away from the younger woman’s lips, her hand moving from Margot’s hair to cradle her jaw.

Margot sighs with relief, her forehead pressing against Alana’s. “I don’t deserve you. And I think she likes it too,” she murmurs, breaking her look with the psychiatrist to look down at their dog whose tail is wagging with joy.

“Applesauce! Your fur!” Theo shouts, clobbering into the room and dropping to the floor with the animal.

“Do you like it, buddy?” Alana asks, wrapping an arm around Margot’s waist as they both look down to watch their son play with the animal.

“I love it! She looks like a wolf now! A black wolf! How’d she do that, mama?” he asks curiously, his eyes looking up at his mother.

Margot shares a knowingly look with her wife. “I don’t know, baby. I guess as she gets older her fur changes color."

Alana laughs into her light brown hair, kissing her cheek. “You’re wicked.”


	4. the sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alana and Margot engage in a little babymaking pillow talk at their own adult sleepover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took this as a request, so please don't hesitate to leave me more spooky Marlana goodies to write about.

As the long and cold winter dragged through Westfield, the Verger-Bloom family was thriving with color. Well, not literally. The tattered house had been repainted white with black accents and the grand brick entrance gate had been improved with an alarm and security guard cell, where all guests were required to check in. Margot had no problem installing new alarms and hiring more security if it made Alana feel safer, even though Hannibal was presumed dead she still wanted to take precautions.

Her stables for the horses, transported from the Verger estate, had been built on the property as well and she loved taking Theo out to ride the little ponies. She made sure to document the adorable interactions between the animals and Theo by taking plenty of videos and pictures, mostly blurry and inaudible, but Alana adored them.

The property was now littered with fresh Lugano trees, imported from Switzerland, and plenty of guesthouses for the staff members to lodge in. It was starting to get the Verger mansion feel again, but Margot still kept the cobwebs and witchcraft books among other spooky things. She had come to actually appreciate and embrace the conspiracy held over their “haunted” house and the little town rumor that her family was full of witches. That was actually true, she had looked up her ancestry online because she was so curious.

She explains her family heritage to her wife in the library, who was cuddled up on the red leather couch in front of the fireplace as Margot listed off her great aunts and uncles. “Did you know my great aunt Susanne was claimed to be a witch in her community? Her family had her executed. Even in the beginning of my family’s roots, religion dictated everyone’s lives,” Margot muses, a bit bitterly.

Alana hums in acknowledgement, rubbing the younger woman’s shoulders. “That’s interesting that witchcraft runs in your family. Mine sounds boring in comparisons to yours, the only thing I have is that one of my great uncles was apparently a really famous lawyer in the 1800s,” Alana offers in a dull tone, dropping her chin to rest on her wife’s shoulder.

Margot shifts her head to meet the other woman’s eyes, the fireplace causing the pure blue eyes to be startlingly even more beautiful than usual. “You’re the first female doctor in your family.” She reaches a hand over to tangle into the side of Alana’s head of dark tresses.

Blue eyes flicker to green, the corners crinkling in a smile. Alana sighs happily as she hugs the younger woman’s body even closer, her back meeting the older woman’s front. “I love that you find the good in everything,” Alana notes, pressing little kisses to the pale underside of Margot’s jaw as Margot tries explaining her the new potion she learned that day. She starts slurring terms and spells and isn’t even aware of what she’s saying when Alana kisses her neck in that one spot that drives her absolutely crazy.

“You were saying?” the psychiatrist asks, her voice a seductive and playful purr into the hollow of Margot’s neck.

“Fuck it,” Margot mutters, tossing the book behind the couch with a thud and tangling her now free hand into Alana’s hair once again. The leather squeaks under them as Margot adjusts herself on her back and positions her thigh in between Alana’s legs, causing the other woman to moan as she grinds into it.

“Do you care about this?” Alana murmurs into her wife’s collarbone, sliding a finger under a strap of the black lace nightgown the heiress is wearing.

“Not particularly,” the younger woman replies, tightening her grip on Alana’s hovering shoulders. She gasps loudly as Alana rips the nightgown off of her, with absolutely nothing on underneath, but makes up for it by softly kissing down Margot’s body, paying a little more attention to her scar on her lower abdomen.

“Don’t wake the-“ Alana starts to say into the inside of Margot’s thigh, so accustomed to having to stay quiet due to their son usually asleep in the other room.

Margot smirks down at the blob of dark hair positioned at her thighs. “The baby? Whose currently far away at your brother’s house out of ear and sight?”

_Thank god for sleepovers,_ Margot thinks before arching back and screaming Alana’s name (five times to be exact).

 

* * *

 

 

The pair of woman end up on the giant hand-woven rug in front of the crackling fireplace, a throw blanket embracing them in comforting warmth. Margot reaches a free arm up to grab a pillow from the couch to place under Alana’s back, knowing it probably wasn’t very comfortable for her damaged spine but her wife was too stubborn to get up to lay down in bed.

The heiress takes her time skimming her fingers lightly up in down her wife’s sides and arms, fascinated with how her goosebumps look in the flickering shadow caused by the fireplace.

Alana nudges the discarded book of witchcraft with her bare foot, causing it to slide across the floor even further. “It’s too bad about your great aunt. She would have been fun to have over for dinner here,” Alana muses, draping her arm over the bare body on top of hers.

The younger woman hums, fingers moving from pale arms to Alana’s chest and collarbone area. She toys with Alana’s starfish necklace as she feels eyes on hers, studying her reaction to the mention of family. “I don’t have many Verger family members to offer a dinner invite to,” Margot muses, a bit melancholy but not mourning. Most of the family members of the Verger reign were either assholes, dead, or both.

“We’ll make our own family grow, to make up for yours,” Alana states simply, positioning her head on the ground to act as if she is studying the ceiling’s design.

Margot’s head snaps up with attention, shifting her fingers and attention back to her wife instead of toying with her necklace. “Really? You want that?” she asks, eager and hopeful. The women hadn’t really approached the topic of having more children often, they were usually too occupied with Theo or _other_ activities.

Alana attempts to hide her wide grin, flicking her eyes back to familiar and beautiful green ones. “I do. As long as you’re okay with it?” Alana asks, hesitating a bit, just to make sure her wife was on the same page.

The heiress nods excitedly, her hands sliding up to her wife’s shoulders and squeezing a little to prove her point. The older woman grins and squeezes Margot’s hips in response. “Are the samples still in the freezer?” She couldn’t remember if they were brought from the old house.

Nodding rapidly, Margot raises her body almost as if she were to fetch them now at Alana’s command. Instead, the psychiatrist gently tugs the hovering body back down, closer to her warmth. “There’s no rush. I’ll make an appointment with the gynecologist within the next few weeks and I want you there with me,” Alana states, a hand positioned under Margot’s jaw so she could lock eyes with her wife.

Margot answers with a million little pecks of kisses on the face below her causing Alana to shake with laughter. They both sigh happily as they embrace each other, just happy to sit in silence and bask in the news of the possibility of a larger family.

“My turn to hold you,” Margot announces, carefully shifting Alana out from under her and slides onto the throw pillow. She helps her wife adjust herself carefully while draping the blanket around her bare body.

She peppers little kisses into soft dark hair as she feels Alana settle her head on Margot’s chest. “Are you really sure about this? I hated seeing you in so much pain with Theo,” Margot gently reminds her, rubbing a hand up and down the body settled on top of her own.

Alana raises her head, their eyes locking together. “I’m more than sure about it. I’ve been thinking about it a lot these past few weeks here, to be honest. Our baby is worth it. You’re worth it.”

“Thanks L'Oreal,” Margot replies dryly, causing a giggle from the older woman.

Suddenly, an annoyingly loud ringtone interrupts their shared laughter. Margot groans as she tries to reach for Alana’s cell that was placed on the side table by the couch, Alana lifting her body slightly to help make it easier.

Margot glances at the screen, a bit worried when she sees her brother-in-law’s name on the screen at such a late hour. “Hello? Adam? Is everything okay?” she asks anxiously, sharing a nervous look with Alana.

“Oh yeah, the little man is fine. It’s just that he says he wants to head back to your place, he’s pretty homesick and he’s only been here for three hours. Is it okay if he comes home early tonight?” Adam asks, Margot can hear little whimpers in the background.

Alana nearly melts at the sound, her head hovering closer to the phone’s speaker. “Yes, of course he can. We’ll send a driver there at once to make it easier for you,” Alana says, taking the phone from her wife’s hand as Margot gets up to find presentable clothes to put on.

Once the women find warm clothes, plenty of scarves to hide looming marks of passion, they walk hand in hand to the sleek black Mercedes-Benz that’s waiting for them outside, covered in snowflakes. Margot holds open the door for her wife, sliding into the toasty car after she is settled into the comfortable leather seats.

“Our baby misses us,” Alana coos, flipping through photos of their child on her cell phone. She passes the phone to her wife, a picture from last Halloween where Theo had dressed up as Jack Skellington and Applesauce as Zero. “Our spooky little boy,” Margot murmurs to the picture.

“And don’t forget about the other spooky child,” Alana states, bringing the other woman’s hands to place on her non-existent pregnant belly.

“Soon,” Margot says, sighing happily as they travel down the icy dark road into the night.


	5. the business trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margot goes on a little business trip, leaving Alana to take care of their son and to think back on their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer in length and mostly fluff, but I promise the proposal flashback (as requested) is buried within the fluff towards the end. I pinky promise.

The Verger-Bloom family had settled comfortably in the first month of their new arrival in the little town of Westfield, both in home and work. Almost all of the construction for the house was complete, Alana had hired a team of construction crew to build her son a tree house, and both of the women’s professional lives were going smoothly.

The curious town citizens stopped going to Alana’s psychiatry practice, after realizing how normal she appeared to be, and Margot oversaw the Verger business from her office on the 3rd floor of the house. The only downside was that sometimes, some errands required Margot to revisit the slaughterhouses scattered across the country and at Muskrat Farms.

Alana had buried her head into Margot’s neck, clinging to her body. The businesswoman was already dressed for work, only being held back on the bed due to her wife’s persistent kisses and hugs.

“I’m going to miss you,” she says sadly, nudging her forehead underneath the younger woman’s chin.

Margot sighs heavily, tightening her hold on Alana’s shoulders. “God I hope these three days fly by. I haven’t even left yet and I’m already missing you and Theo,” the heiress murmurs, dropping her head down to inhale the delicious scent from Alana’s shampoo, whose hair was currently adorably ruffled from sleep.

Margot glances at the clock on her bedside table, internally groaning when she realized she needed to leave within the next three minutes if she wanted to get on their private jet at the local airport in time. With a final kiss to Alana’s lips and a quick and quiet goodbye from her sleeping son, she left her spooky little house on the hill with two security guards in tow, watching with sad eyes from the rearview mirror until the house disappeared from her sight.

Alana had taken the next three days off work, she refused to allow her son to sit at home nearly all day with just the nanny and neither of his mommies around. The mothers rarely used the nanny, she was mainly there as a cook and housekeeper, but occasionally if both mothers were tied up with work the nanny would take care of Theo for a few hours.

Rising from her now cold and empty bed slowly, Alana drudged sadly all the way downstairs. She slowly started brewing her coffee and preparing her toast, tapping her short blunt nails, currently painted black, against the granite countertops as she watched the glistening snow fall outside. She debated about taking her son outside for some sledding when she started to smell smoke, causing the smoke alarm to go off.

“Shitshitshitshit!” Alana mutters quickly as she desperately tried yanking the now charred bread from the toaster.

“Oh fuck!” Alana yells as she burned her fingers on the hot bread, dropping it onto the counter with even more curses.

“Mommy, are you okay?” her son asks, appearing by her side immediately. Alana jumped at the sight of the tiny pajama-clad child, she hadn’t even heard him coming down the stairs.

“Yes baby, I’m fine. I’m just a really bad cook,” Alana says with a heavy sigh, patting her son’s head.

“Oh. Okay. What does fuck mean?” he asks, his voice pure of innocence which made Alana nearly choke on her coffee.

“Oh honey, let’s not say that word okay? It’s a really, really, really bad word and mommy shouldn’t have said it,” she explains quickly, bending down to her son’s level to grab his tiny hands. She searches his eyes, light blue just like hers, to look for any signs of understanding.

 He looks back at his mother confused, opening his mouth to question again. “You know what? Why don’t we go get McDonalds for breakfast?” she proposes, desperately trying to get her son to forget all about her cursing. She smiles as he exclaims excitedly, thinking silently to herself that her wife was going to kill her for cursing and now feeding unhealthy fast food to their son.

 

* * *

 

 

The next few days passed fairly quickly, Alana and her son spending their days playing all around the house both inside and out. The woman loved to watch her son ride his ponies around the little track Margot had set up for him and she made sure to take dozens of photos and videos to send to her wife, who was currently dealing with the pig and cattle business at Muskrat Farms. The pair had gone sledding on the hill their home was built on, Alana holding onto her son’s little body securely as he giggled all the way down the snowcapped hill. She even helped him build a snow family, a pair of two larger bodies made of snow to resemble the mothers and a slightly smaller snowman for Theo.

“Mama’s gonna love it!” Theo said, doing his little bunny hops up the front steps to head back inside the toasty warm house.

When the busy mother had some alone time, she tried dabbling in some spell reading and potion making but gave up halfway through, the activities were completed better with Margot anyway. She much preferred calling Margot for long chats on the phone whenever she had a chance and spending more time with her son.

“So, are you excited that your mama’s finally coming home tomorrow morning?” she asks with a big grin, helping him put on his brown pajama onesie that resembled a bear.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! A million times yes!” Theo exclaims, doing his famous bunny hops yet again all the way to his red racecar bed. Alana fetches his stuffed bunny for him off the floor and the 3rd Harry Potter book off his little bookshelf before settling into bed next to him, far too small for her adult body.

Alana smiles as her son cuddles into her side, one hand clutching his bunny and the other holding onto her arm. Theo adored his mother’s voice, that was evident by the amount of kicks she got every time she crooned to him in the womb, and he always looked forward to storytime before bed.

As she ended reading the chapter for the night, the day’s events of all the physical activities she did outdoors with her son had drained the woman as she dropped the book down on the bedside table, her son already fast asleep.

Alana woke with a jolt of the sound of the front door slamming, causing her son to also throw himself out of bed to greet the new visitor.

Margot met him there, bounding excitedly up the stairs as she searched for her family. “Mama!” Theo squealed, throwing his arms around his taller mother’s legs.

“There’s my little bear! I missed you so much,” Margot cooed, picking her son up in her arms with ease and giving him a bunch of little kisses on his cheeks. Alana watches the adorable reuniting with bleary eyes, still hazy from sleep.

The heiress peaks her head inside the doorway to her son’s bedroom, meeting her wife’s sleepy eyes with a smile. “You’re early,” the older woman notes, voice thick with sleep.

“I missed you too. You look drunk right now, how long did you two stay up?” Margot asks amusedly, causing her son to giggle into his mother’s light brown hair that resembled his own.

Alana rises slowly from her son’s bed, her neck and back stiff with discomfort after sleeping in such an odd position for a few hours.

Margot lowers her son down in bed, tucking him back in with a kiss to his forehead. “Night, Theo. I love you, I can’t wait to tell you all about my trip,” she whispers to him as he yawns and cuddles closer to his stuffed bunny.

Alana watches from the doorway, hiding her grin with the doorframe. She was shifting her weight excitedly from foot to foot, desperately wanting to steal her wife’s attention away and just have her for the night. Margot gets the idea and turns around to quickly head back to her wife’s waiting and loving arms, meeting her flirtatious smile.

“Hi,” the younger woman purrs, shutting the door softly with a click. Alana pushes her body away from the doorframe to place her hands behind her wife’s neck, her fingers tangling in brunette waves.

Margot moans quietly as their lips meet, she had been wanting to kiss those lips for the past three days with a desperate need. Margot moves her hands to slip down underneath her wife’s shirt, well actually it was _her_ shirt. Seeing Alana in her button-down business shirts was always a lovely sight to see, and it made her want for her wife grow even more.

She blindly follows her wife as Alana tugs them backwards to their own master bedroom, their hands and lips never breaking apart. They reach their destination, by clumsily falling onto the large four-poster bed. This causes the heiress to land awkwardly on top of Alana’s body, less graceful than both had intended. “Oomph sorry, did I hurt you?” Margot asks worriedly, rubbing Alana’s left hip gently.

She seems to forgive her quickly, by wrapping her long exposed legs around Margot’s hips hovering above her. “I. Missed. You. So Much.” Alana states, emphasizing her words with kisses to her wife’s plush lips, cheek, neck, and partially exposed collarbone.

“Let me show you how much I’ve missed you,” Alana purrs into the other woman’s ear, taking the lobe and lightly biting it which causes Margot to shiver.

“Please,” is all Margot manages to say before her wife makes her have to muffle her moans of ecstasy with a pillow.

 

* * *

 

 

Afterwards, as Margot holds onto Alana’s body, slick with sweat, she smiles when she feels her wife tap her wedding ring with her own. “I love that sound,” Margot muses, playing with the fingers of Alana’s left hand.

“I love you,” the other woman states simply, the words still having a powerful impact on Margot despite the simplicity of tone. Margot wonders if Alana can feel her rapid heartbeat beating soundly in her chest, where the psychiatrist’s head was currently resting on.

“I love you too,” Margot answers in a happy sigh. She continues playing with her wife’s fingers on her left hand, the large crystal rock shimmering in the pale moonlight. She had been feeling especially nostalgic about her marriage with Alana since she recently revisited their old home back at Muskrat Farms where they had first met. Margot thinks back to her proposal for Alana’s hand in marriage, getting to her knees and taking her warm hand and looking up in those eyes that always seemed to comfort her.

**The women had enjoyed a nice walk around Muskrat Farms, spring was in full swing and Margot loved picking lilacs for Alana as they meandered about the paths lined with mulch. They had laid a few of the lilacs on the makeshift grave for the unnamed Verger Baby, Margot spending a few moments just staring at the plot of dirt, no longer as fresh as it was nearly a year ago. Alana had tugged on her hand gently, “Come on, it looks like it’s about to rain.” They pair waltz back to the house, the rain drizzling lightly on their backs but neither of them particularly cared. “Wait one second, I have to grab something from the stables,” Margot says, rubbing the sides of Alana’s stomach before tugging her into the horse shelter. Both women had a soft spot for this place, the place of many firsts for them. Their first meeting, first kiss, first touch. Alana fights a blush as she remembers their time shared here as she listens to her girlfriend dig around a hay bale. Alana looks on to the heiress’s shuffling with a confused expression.**

**“Find your needle?” Alana jokes, still not sure why her strange girlfriend was looking desperately through a bale of hay. “Found it!” Margot exclaims with victory, sauntering over with one arm pulled behind her back and a warm smile. Alana returns the smile, still not sure what the younger woman was aiming at. “Baby? What are you doing?” Alana asks, wary as Margot just beams even more at her. The slightly taller woman clasps their hands together, one hand having to rest with Alana’s on her cane. “Alana, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone, which may not be a very big list of people but you’re at the top so that means something to me,” Margot attempts to explain, but Alana adores her proclamation of love nonetheless. “And I love you, you know that don’t you?” the other woman asks, still not sure where her girlfriend was going with this random act of love.**

**“I may have not known it then, but meeting you here, in this very spot has affected my life in the best way possible. I love you Alana Bloom, and I want to spend the rest of my life here with you,” Margot says, her confident voice failing a little at the end because she just couldn’t handle how much she truly loved the woman she was now kneeled upon. Alana brings one hand to her open mouth, a little gasp escaping as she felt happy tears blur her vision. “Oh Margot, yes! Yes!” Alana says, reaching down for the woman to come back up to her height so she could kiss her. “I love you,” Alana murmurs against warm and familiar lips as Margot slides a ring onto her bare finger. “And I love you,” the newly engaged Margot Verger replied, meeting her fiancée’s lips.**

“Are you even listening?” Alana asks, perking her head up with the palm of her hand, her elbow positioned on the bed.

“Sorry, what was that honey?” Margot asks sheepishly, twirling a finger around a dark curl.

Alana smiles, amused at Margot’s innocent expression. Her expression softens a bit, eyes crinkling with warmth and understanding. “Where’d you go? Just now?” Alana asks softly, using her other hand to trace the few looming marks she left on her wife’s neck just a few moments ago.

The younger woman wordlessly studies her wife’s prominent facial features in the dim lighting, her eyes flicking over to the left of Alana’s face where her ring was catching the light of the moon. “My proposal to you.”

This causes Alana to smile, pressing a kiss in between Margot’s breasts. “Damn. You sure know what to say to get into a girl’s pants,” Alana teases, she loved when her wife got all romantic and nostalgic on her.

The younger woman chuckles, pecking a kiss to the crown of Alana’s head, now fully repositioned back on her chest. “I loved that day. I loved our little walks around the farm,” the heiress notes nostalgically.

“I miss them,” Alana says, surprising Margot slightly.

Margot opens her mouth then closes it again, considering her words. “Would you ever…want to go back?” she asks hesitantly, her hand halting mid-rub on the body on top of hers.

“Sometimes I think what Theo must feel about it, he was raised in that house. He probably misses it,” Alana muses, tracing little patterns on Margot’s pale shoulder. Margot tries to smother her smile but fails, she finds it endearing how her wife manages to only think of others and never herself.

Margot shifts her hand to her wife’s chin for their eyes to meet. “You don’t miss…. _us_ there?” Margot tries, wanting to see if her wife remembers the good times spent in the Verger mansion.

Alana smiles that special little smile just for Margot, reassuring her wife at once. “Of course I do, baby. Mostly the stables though, for our entrance,” Alana explains, her eyes brimming with brightness just like they had when she first locked eyes with the woman the day they had met.

Margot buries her face in soft tresses of hair, her arms embracing her wife even closer. Just then Alana yawns, causing Margot to giggle and press a kiss to her cheek.

“You wore me out,” Alana mumbles, her voice thick with sleepy affection, as she turns over in the bed so the other woman can spoon her from behind.

Margot smirks smugly against Alana’s warm shoulder as she tightens her hold on her arms around Alana’s middle, hugging her even closer to her body.

“I love you,” Margot says, probably for the millionth time within the past hour, but she just loved the words rolling off her tongue and wanted to make sure her wife knew it.

“And I love you,” Alana sleepily murmurs, her left hand rubbing the arm wrapped around her waist. The last thing Margot saw before sleep overtook her vision was the shimmer of Alana’s ring, causing Margot to fall asleep with a smile.


	6. the gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margot has a special gift in mind to give to her son for his fifth birthday, but her wife is being stubborn. Luckily, Margot knows how to get her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the super cool comments and prompts, I appreciate them all! :)

As January drew to a close and February began, the mothers to the only heir to the Verger-Bloom empire (for now) had a very important day approaching: Theodore Verger-Bloom’s fifth birthday. Alana and Margot loved to talk about all the aspects over the very important day with their son, and he loved talking about it too.

Of course, usually toys were at the top of his wishlist, but Alana felt like their child already had everything he could possibly need. “You don’t think we’re spoiling him too much, do you?” Alana asks, laying down on the bottom part of the bed, looking out their bedroom window that overlooked the side of the yard. Their son was playing in the snow with Applesauce, her now black fur having a striking contrast against the pure ivory snow.

Margot crawls over from the pillows to join her wife, propping herself by her hands on the sides of the other woman’s face. Alana glances up to emerald eyes, expecting a response but is only met with a mischievous smile. “I think we are well past that point, darling,” Margot drawls, lightly kissing the lips below hers.

Their child’s ecstatic squeal from outside causes both women to break the kiss with a smile. “Would this be a bad time to say that I want to get Theo a kitten?” Margot murmurs against the side of Alana’s neck, hiding there until Alana replies. She had a feeling this wouldn’t go well.

The long heavy sigh her wife produces answers her suspicions, Margot has to fight the urge to roll her eyes. “No, Margot. We went over this. He is way too young for that. Maybe when he gets a little older, but right now there is no reason for a five year old to be responsible for a kitten.” Alana’s voice is orderly and firm, signaling the end of the possibility for a debate.

Margot wasn’t taking that, she knew she could persuade her wife to get what she wanted. “But baby, don’t you want our baby to have what he wants? It’ll be a little while until he has another sibling to play with and I don’t want him to be bored or lonely. You don’t want that either, do you?” Margot says, her face now up out of her wife’s warm neck and their eyes meeting again.

Alana’s pure blue eyes were slightly narrowed, Margot’s green flirtatious ones were brimming with mischief as she tries to pull off her best puppy-eyed look. Alana sighed and brought a hand away from Margot’s back to her own face, rubbing it down her face in frustration. “Honey, I know I hardly ever say no to you. But this time is an exception, I do not want our son to be responsible for a kitten,” Alana states, her eyes firmly locking with Margot’s from between her fingers.

“Theo is great with the horses, he’s starting to ride some of my older professional horses now. And he is fine with Applesauce, what makes a kitten any different?” the heiress says, pursing her lips as she awaits the rebuttal from her wife.

“That’s different, Applesauce is even older than he is. A kitten is a baby, like himself,” Alana mutters, her eyes flickering back to the window. Outside, Theo trips, causing his tiny body to plop down in a pile of snow. Maternal instincts kick in and Alana starts to get up from the bed, but a security guard outside beats her to it and helps her son back up, brushing the snow off his little brown leather jacket as Applesauce licks the snow off his cheeks, red from the cold.

“I could help take care of the kitten. I’m very good at taking care of things,” Margot purrs, slipping her hand down to the zipper of Alana’s slacks, interrupting Alana from her thoughts.

Alana groans and rubs a hand down her face in frustration again, her other hand gripping the other woman’s hovering hips. “You’re impossible,” the older woman says as Margot shifts her wife’s lower body gently so her legs can hang over the edge of the bed.

Margot smirks to herself as she settles her knees on the floor, positioning herself between her wife’s thighs. Gray was Alana’s work suit choice of the day, with blue and black plaid accents on her blazer jacket. “Well, I’m not the one being stubborn. I just want our son to have a good birthday because he deserves it and I love him. Just as much as I love you,” Margot murmurs, fully unzipping her wife’s pants and sliding them slowly off long pale legs. She takes her wife’s heels off with care, pressing little kisses from the inside of her thighs all the way down her legs.

“I love you too and I want-oh! I want those things too,” Alana huffs, a hand fumbling downward to slip into brown locks of her wife’s hair positioned in-between her thighs.

“What things?” Margot asks teasingly, her lips hovering just above the one spot that Alana desperately wanted her. _Needed_ her.

Her warm breath hit Alana’s pulsating center, which made the other woman fall onto her back, groaning and grasping at the silk sheets in frustration. “For our son to be happy. For you to be happy,” Alana moans breathily, reaching her other hand down to touch her wife’s shoulder, trying to feel warm contact with the familiar skin.

Margot grins into the inside of Alana’s right thigh, biting lightly and relishing in the little breathy gasp she earns from Alana. “You do make me happy,” Margot sighs happily before bringing her tongue to that one little spot that she knows drives her wife absolutely crazy. She lets the other woman moan her name as loud as she wants, without the use of a pillow, silently thanking to herself that she had an outdoor enthusiast of a child.

 

* * *

 

 

Alana plops down on their bed onto her stomach, sighing with exhaustion against the pillows. She shivers when she feels her wife’s warm body, still covered with sweat from their previous activities, hover over her backside. She sneaks a peak over shoulder just as Margot settles gently on top of her, her bare breasts pressing softly into her back, causing delicious friction. Margot initiates a sweet kiss as Alana has her head turned over her shoulder, Alana peeking her tongue out to meet the other woman’s. Margot takes her tongue in between her plump lips, sucking a little causing Alana to moan softly.

“Why does this always happen?” Alana asks as their lips pull away with a little laugh, Margot dropping little kisses across her shoulder blades. Alana whimpers sadly when Margot’s warmth leaves her for a moment, but she sighs with gratitude once her wife repositions them so Margot can spoon her from behind.

“Why does what happen?” the younger woman asks innocently, smoothing an arm over to wrap around Alana’s bare stomach.

“You always getting your way, one way or another,” Alana mumbles into a soft pillow, covered with a 1000 threat count silk pillowcase. Margot smiles into her wife’s skin, her lips resting behind her shoulder, salty from the perspiration.

“Because Alana fucking Bloom is fucking whipped,” Margot states, causing the body she was currently cradling to her front to shake with laughter.

“I really am, aren’t I? But the name now is Alana _Verger_ -Bloom,” Alana corrects, shifting her good leg to place in-between Margot’s legs behind her so they can intertwine. Margot closes her eyes as she sighs softly, peppering the back of Alana’s head with kisses as her wife settles into her arms, overtook with exhaustion.

 

* * *

 

 

Margot was so tied up with making sure all the horses were properly put back into their rightful chambers within the stables that she hadn’t heard Alana’s car, a new silver Volvo Margot had gotten her last Christmas that had the most comfortable black leather seats (which proved to come in handy when Alana took her out for late night drives), pulled into the gravel driveway after her work shift. Margot locks up the stables and heads back to the main house, stomping the snow out of her boots on the old wooden planks of the porch. She smiles as the first thing she hears when she walks in is her son talking and squealing excitedly with his other mother as she takes off her shoes in the foyer and hangs up her coat.

 As she turns around, she is met with the sight of her son cooing to a tiny black kitten, cuddled up in her wife’s arms. She quickly whips out her cell phone to snap a few photos before joining her family’s kitten cuddle session on the couch. “Can I hold him, mommy?” Theo asks, eyes hopeful and his little hands clasped together.

Alana hesitates just a little as she meets Margot’s eyes. Margot smiles a reassuring smile, nodding her head subtlety. “Yes, but be very careful. He’s just a little guy, like you,” Alana explains, gently passing the kitten to her son’s awaiting hands.

“He’s not a little guy anymore, he’s turning five in three days. Deal with it,” Margot says, meeting her wife’s lips in a quick peck as her hello.

Alana sighs, a little sadly, at the thought of their son growing up. She rests her head against Margot’s shoulder as they watch their son, gentle as ever, softly stroking the black fur of the kitten purring in his arms. “Thought of a name yet?” Margot asks her son, reaching her own hand out to pet the new member of the Verger-Bloom family.

“Hmm…what about Salem?” Theo asks, after a few moments of pondering.

Alana meets her wife’s knowing smile. “I gave him a little history lesson on the beginnings of witches in the U.S. the other day.”

Alana rolls her eyes, adoration behind them, as she kisses her wife’s cheek. “You’re ridiculous, but I love it. And you. And now Salem,” Alana says, as all three of them fawn over the new member of their spooky little house.


	7. date night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a bad day, Margot and Alana enjoy a date night and it's aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a little bit longer than usual and starts off a little on the sad angst side, but I suppose a little dosage of conflict is good in this overload of fluff for a fic. I pinky promise some good stuff happens later on. ;)

Margot had gotten accustomed to the long silence, the only noise coming from Alana’s sniffles and a few car doors slamming shut outside in the hospital parking lot the women were currently parked in.

The two women hadn’t moved a muscle, Margot in the driver’s seat and Alana in the passenger, stretched awkwardly across the center console so her wife could hold her. Alana raises her head, eyebrows raised questioningly and her eyes filled with tears, as Margot gently moves away to bend the car seat back so Alana can turn and relocate easier to the roomier backseat. Margot joins her, quickly wrapping her arms around the woman’s shoulders, shaking with little sobs now.

The heiress simply rubs her back in gentle soothing circles, pressing little kisses into her hair before she just couldn’t take seeing her wife in such despair. “Alana. Tell me how I can fix this. What can I do? I’ll do anything,” Margot asks softly in pleading tone.

Alana looks up from her wife’s neck, now soaked with salty tears and smeared mascara. “That’s the point, Margot. You do so much for me and I can’t even give you another baby. Our baby,” the other woman says, her voice breaking with the threat of another sob.

Margot takes in her wife’s appearance, her eye makeup smeared around the edges, tears streaked down her ruddy cheeks, and the collar of her blouse was rumpled. “Oh Alana,” Margot murmurs sadly, taking her wife’s head to cradle under her chin.

She gently takes the older woman’s jaw and positions it upwards so their eyes can meet. “You have already given me so much. You’ve given me Theo, who is indescribably wonderful and I am so grateful that your wonderful self is his mother. I see so much of him in you, when you’re not home I just look into those precious blue eyes and see you,” Margot explains, taking her thumb to gently rub away the smeared makeup.

Alana looks down bashfully, hiding a soft laugh with a sniffle. “It’s true. And you’ve given me Applesauce, who I was a little hesitant about at first but I adore her and I love how much she loves you,” the younger woman explains, playing with the ends of Alana’s curls.

“She’s alright I suppose,” Alana mumbles, earning a giggle and a kiss to her soaked cheek from Margot.

“And now Salem is our new pet addition, whom I also love. But you want to know who tops all of those?” Margot asks, her eyes searching Alana’s for understanding.

Alana stares back, a small little smile toying at her lips. She had an inkling who her wife was going to mention.

“You. It’s you, baby. You have given me the things I could have only dreamed of just six years ago,” Margot says, her voice full of love and adoration.

Alana blushes, nudging her head into the other woman’s shoulder. “What things are you talking about?”

Margot sighs happily as she rests her head back on the seat headrest, rubbing a hand up and down Alana’s warm back. “Where to start? Well, just looking at you is a gift. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you when you came into my stables that first day.”

Alana giggles a little, pressing a kiss to the heiress’s clothed shoulder. “I noticed. You suck at being subtle,” Alana mumbles into Margot’s skin.

“I wasn’t trying to be. I wanted you to know that I wanted you,” Margot replies, voice full of sincerity.

Alana breathes into brown hair, taken aback from her wife’s proclamation. She moves her head up out of Margot’s shoulder to meet her green eyes. “God, I love you. And your words,” Alana mutters before pressing her salty lips to her wife’s. Margot kisses her slowly and surely, tasting the tears away.

Alana’s eyelashes flutter when their lips pull away, Margot smirking a little at the effect she has on her wife.

“What else was on that list?” Alana asks breathlessly, cuddling up to her wife’s side once again.

The other woman sighs happily, wrapping a secure arm around the body on top of her. “The love you have for me is a gift. After spending thirty-three years of my life in a hellhole of a house, I never thought I’d meet someone who’d want me and love me. Who’d want to spend the rest of their life with me and have children with me,” Margot says, her voice dropping a bit at the end.

Alana sighs heavily, rubbing her forehead in frustration against the shoulder below her. “And I wish I could give you another one. I hate my old eggs and being old,” Alana mutters bitterly.

Margot takes her hands and clasps them together with Alana’s. “Hey. Stop it. You are certainly not by any means old, Alana. And we do not have to have another child this way, we can look at a surrogate or adoption if you really want to. If not, that’s also more than okay. Alana, I want you to understand something,” Margot says seriously, causing Alana to look up to Margot with concern etching on her face.

She takes Margot’s hands and traces her thumb on the soft skin on the inside of her wrists. “What?”

“I want you to know that I love you purely for yourself and all your qualities. I’d love you just the same if you weren’t able to have kids six years ago. I just…I just want you to know you’re more than a body to me. More than a fiable womb. You make me so happy, I just don’t want you to think so lowly of yourself just because we aren’t able to have a second child,” Margot explains, her eyes remaining locked with blue for the whole proclamation.

Alana studies her wife’s eyes, the familiar green eyes that had served as a beacon for comfort all these years. She brings her hands up to rest behind Margot’s neck, toying with the little hairs back there. “I know that honey, I know. I just…want you to be happy. Because I think more than anyone you deserve that,” Alana says, shifting a hand to trace over the outline of Margot’s plush lips.

Margot takes Alana’s hands and presses a kiss to the inside of her wrist, earning a happy sigh from the other woman. “I am. Speaking of much deserving things, I think we should go out tonight. We’ve earned it.”

Alana grins and pecks a quick peck to the heiress’s lips. “You’ve got yourself a deal,” Alana says as they settle back into the rightful seats up front and buckle up for the ride back to their spooky house.

 

* * *

 

 

After tucking their son in for bed, both mothers pressing a kiss to each cheek as their child’s eyes fluttered shut for sleep, Alana grinned as Margot skipped to their bedroom to get ready for their date. Alana would never get tired of seeing her wife so happy, and she hoped she continued creating a positive environment for her wife to continue being happy. The quick kiss Alana receives to the nape of her neck upon arriving to their bedroom ceases her worries, as Margot hops over to their shared walk-in closet for outfit selection.

“Now I see where our son gets that from,” Alana says, patting a playful little smack to her wife’s pajama-clad bottom which causes to Margot to squeal in surprise.

“Our little bunny rabbit,” Margot coos to a picture of Theo on their vanity, pausing to admire it before entering the closet.

“We should add that to the list of sprawling animals around here,” the older woman notes, digging through her dresser drawers to find something appropriate to wear.

“What do you think about this?” Margot asks her wife, pulling out a cobalt blue dress and holds it close to her body.

“You look beautiful in everything. But I want to see you in red tonight,” Alana states as she pulls out black slacks and a red blouse free from her drawer.

Margot raises her eyebrows a bit, pursing her lips. “But red is your color.”

“I know. But I want to see you in it,” Alana murmurs, stepping into the small shared space of the closet to grab her gray peacoat, pressing a kiss behind the shell of Margot’s ear before she walks away to get dressed.

Alana zips up her sleek black slacks as Margot helps her wife tuck the blouse into her trousers, smoothing a hand over the zipper to palm Alana’s center. Alana chuckles as she moves her wife’s wandering hand away, turning to grab her coat off the bed.

“Easy there. Are we even going to make it out of the driveway without us acting like horny teenagers?” Alana teases, slipping on her coat as Margot grabs bends down beside the vanity to grab her purse. The older woman appreciates the view, her wife has selected black skinny jeans the show off the curves of her lower body wonderfully, and a large maroon red sweater with an oversized collar. Alana had a feeling that loose collar would come in handy later for hiding _special_ marks.

“Probably not, knowing us. Let’s go,” Margot says with a sly smile, linking her arm with Alana’s as they descend down the grand staircase.

“Will you be needing our services tonight, Mrs. and Mrs. Verger-Bloom?” Phil, one of their many security guard asks on their way out the front door.

“We will not. We should be fine for tonight. Please just keep a watchful eye on Theo at your usual guard posts, thank you Phil,” Alana orders with a smile.

Margot gives a squeeze to Alana’s arm as they walk outside in the chilly winter air to Alana’s Volvo. “No security guard for tonight? Damn, my wife is feeling adventurous,” Margot purrs into the other woman’s ear, nibbling lightly on her ear before ducking inside the car.

Alana chuckles as she cranks up the heat and buckles up, grabbing the younger woman’s hand to press a quick kiss to before turning the key in ignition. “You have no idea,” she murmurs as they pull out of the driveway.

 

* * *

 

 

The pair of women had taken their time on a leisurely walk down the empty sidewalks of downtown Westfield, the cobblestone streets lined with little shops, now closed at such a late hour.

Margot was feeling a little tipsy, she had gone a little overboard with the whiskey at the bar Alana had taken her to. “Easy baby,” Alana says soothingly, tightening her hold on Margot’s waist as she nearly stumbles on a crack in the sidewalk.

She frees herself from her wife’s protective grip and saunters over to an antique light post nearby, twirling around the pole a couple times. Alana tries to suppress her laugh but a few giggles escape before she meets Margot’s approaching face, capturing her lips softly in a kiss.

Margot tries to deepen the kiss with her tongue, which Alana graciously accepts by tracing her own tongue on the roof of the other woman’s mouth a few times before realizing they were out in public. “You wanna get out of here?” Alana husks, pulling away and toying with the loose collar of Margot’s sweater. Her skin was practically glowing from the golden dim of the lamppost.

Alana tugs the younger woman by the hand, leading them to the car but Margot is impatient. “Why don’t we just go to your office? Isn’t it like three blocks away?” she whines, tugging on their interlocked hands. Alana shakes her head, unlocking the car and holding the door open for Margot.

“Forgot the key,” Alana admits sheepishly as she shuts the door behind the other woman and hurries into the driver’s seat, desperate to get home.

“The house is too far away, I need you now,” Margot says in a breathy tone, hovering over the center console so she say it into Alana’s ear.

Alana shudders as she pulls the car out of the parking lot and speeds off onto the main road, desperately trying to focus on the road. “Margot, hold on. Please,” Alana begs, balling her free hand into a fist and biting the knuckles in frustration as Margot smooths a hand on her thigh, moving closer to where she wanted her.

“Can you at least find a spot?” she asks, breaking her teasing glance with Alana to look out the window. The road was absolutely empty, free of other cars and pedestrians. The shops that lined the streets were dark and locked up for the night.

“What if we get caught? How embarrassing would that be for us, as mature and responsible adults, getting caught having sex in the backseat?” Alana asks, suddenly regretting letting her stubborn and impatient wife drink so much whiskey earlier.

“I didn’t say it would have to be in the backseat,” Margot murmurs, grinning mischievously at the other woman.

“A motel? Really? That’s not gross at all,” Alana says, laughing a little as she turns on their neighborhood road. Closer to the safety of privacy.

“You of all people should know that Margot Verger-Bloom does not do sketchy motels,” the heiress scoffs, earning another little soft laugh from Alana as she pulls into their gravel driveway.

“Finally,” Margot huffs as she waits for Alana to get out of the car, taking a little more time than Margot due to her injured hips. Margot helps her up and kicks the door shut with her foot, practically dragging Alana over to the nearby stables.

“What-“ Alana starts but Margot cuts off her words with a quick kiss.

“We’ll be too loud coming in,” Margot says, slightly smirking at the innuendo of her words. Margot pulls the key from her jean pocket, struggling with the lock as she feels Alana push her front of her body against Margot’s back, palming her breasts over her sweater and kissing the side of her neck. They both clobber into the warm stables with a huff, and Margot hurriedly locks it back behind them.

She turns to meet her wife with a flirtatious smile, sauntering closer to the other woman in the dim light of the room. Alana stares back at her, a curious smile playing at the corners of her lips as she watches the younger woman come closer to her face. She puckers her lips slightly and starts to flutter her eyes shut, thinking Margot is about to give her a kiss.

“Race you!” Margot says, tickling the other woman’s sides before bounding up the stairs off to the side of the stables, leaving Alana with an adorably confused expression.

“Hey, no fair! I’m not as fast as you!” she says before hobbling over the hay-covered floor to the stairs, trying to keep pace with her much faster wife. She eventually makes it upstairs to the apartment suite built above the horse’s quarters, rarely used and very dark, as she struggles to find her wife in the dim room. She can just make out the white sheets of the bed in the center of the room and the white paint of the bathroom door off to the side but she can’t find the other woman anywhere.

“Margot? Where are you?” Alana whispers into the scarily quiet room, her heartbeat racing a little in worry.

“I’m right here,” Margot murmurs into her ear behind here, causing Alana to jump slightly.

“Sorry,” the younger woman apologizes before taking Alana’s lips with her own. They pick up right what they started on the city sidewalk, Margot leading the slightly shorter woman to the bed.

“I love date nights,” Alana moans, wrapping her still clothed legs around Margot’s waist as she removes her coat.

“I love them too. Almost as much as I love you,” Margot says teasingly, sucking on her wife’s jaw. The older woman shifts her hands out of brown hair to unbuckle Margot’s pants, struggling for a moment to pull them off Margot’s body due to how tight they were.

The heiress pulls herself off of Alana’s body, kicking off her boots and shimming out of her skinny jeans. Alana had started tugging her slacks off and were now partially off, hanging around her knees. Margot was too impatient to deal with them, so she gets right to business by settling her head in-between her wife’s thighs as Alana moans and tightens her grip on the white sheets.

She had gotten so aroused that she had lost control of all her body’s movements, and dragged a heel-clad foot down Margot’s crouched leg. The younger woman didn’t seem to notice the pain at first, she was little tied up at the moment with much more important activities.

 

* * *

 

 

After a quick shower together, the women of the Verger-Bloom household walked hand in hand, back to the main house, rather quickly due to their pajamas not being well-suited for the snow piled in the yard.

Margot hummed happily to herself by the stove, making breakfast for her family as Alana read the Sunday paper at the table with Theo playing with Salem by her feet. Margot’s train of thought was broken when she heard a loud gasp from her son, pointing at a long scratch on her left calf.

“Mama, what happened?” he asked, his blue eyes meeting hers from the floor.

Alana hides her chuckle from behind the rim of her coffee mug, their eyes locking knowingly. “Bad Salem,” Alana scolds, tapping her toe gently against the kitten’s tail. The kitten merely purrs in response.

“Does it hurt?” her son asks, pressing a little kiss to her booboo. The mother bends down to kiss the top of his head, Alana looking on with a smile.

“Not at all. Just a funjury,” Margot muses with a coy smile, causing her wife to nearly choke with suppressed laughter.


	8. the creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margot takes fertility matters into her own hands after an ill-fated doctor's appointment with the help of potions.

As winter drew to a slow close, the Verger-Bloom family began preparing for spring by indulging in a little spring-cleaning around their household. Of course, cobwebs and a moderate amount of dust was allowable in the “haunted” house the family lived in, but Alana loved keeping an organized home.

After their son was tucked in for bed, she got a head start on cleaning out the library as Margot sat at the desk looking over some spreadsheets for the Verger meat business. The only noise being produced was Alana’s soft humming and the occasional thud of old books getting tossed out. The comfortable background noise stops for a moment, causing Margot to look up.

Her wife was at the top of the library step ladder, back facing Margot, studying a book with sad eyes. Eventually, she tosses the book into the garbage closest to the desk with a loud thud. “Alright, I think that’s enough cleaning for today. You need any help with anything else?” Alana asks helpfully with a sigh, clapping the dust off her hands.

She walks over to join the other woman at the desk, resting an arm on Margot’s shoulders to put the weight off her bad leg. Margot reaches a free hand up to intertwine the hand resting on her shoulder, pressing a quick kiss to it. “I think I’ve got it here, thanks though.”

Alana nods in acknowledgement, doing a quick glance over the papers strewn about the large oak desk. “How’s the vegan deal going?” Alana asks, genuinely curious. She understood her wife was in the process of doing a complete renovation to the Verger meat business by removing the horrible conditions at the slaughterhouses and deducting the excessive numbers of animal executions.

The heiress turns her attention back to her paperwork, trying to stack them all together neatly. “Good for the most part. I think I will only have to make two more trips back to Muskrat Farms this year alone, so that’s good. I hate being away from here,” Margot admits, turning in her office chair to wrap her arms around Alana’s waist, burying her face into her stomach.

Alana rests a hand on the back of the other woman’s neck, massaging the tense muscles there. “We’ll always be here waiting for you,” Alana murmurs into a promise, causing Margot to sigh happily. She can’t help but listen to her wife’s stomach, hearing complete silence. She could only hope she would hear a comforting heartbeat soon.

Margot opens her eyes and looks down, noticing her desk drawer with all her potion materials is slightly open. She subtly nudges it shut with her knee as she presses a kiss to Alana’s clothed stomach.

“I’m proud of you, Margot. This is so huge of you for make this company your own and do great things with it,” Alana murmurs into brown hair, kissing the crown of the heiress’s head. Margot grins with glee into the other woman’s shirt, overcome with emotion over her wife’s pride for her.

With a final kiss to the top of the younger woman’s head, Alana heads out of the library for bed. “You know where I’ll be. Love you,” she tosses over her shoulder as she shuts the door.

“I love you too,” Margot replies back, watching her wife leave. She listens to feet pad on the creaky wooden floors over to their son’s room, a few beats of silence, and then a door clicks shut. She hears more footsteps and then another door opening and then closing.

Assured Alana is out of sight, Margot quickly piles all her work papers together and puts them back in their rightful drawers and files before digging out her most recent potion concoction. After their most recent visit to the gynecologist and discovering Alana’s eggs were aging, Margot decided to take matters into her own hands.

 She could tell her wife was growing tired and frustrated with all her failed efforts through endless hormone treatments. It pained Margot to see her wife in the slumps over her incompetent eggs. So, in the dead of night and the privacy the library allowed her, Margot had been religiously studying her potion books to desperately try to find information of successful fertility spells and potions.

Over the past few days during her walks and horse rides through their large wooded property, she had also been gathering roots and herbs for the fertility potion. As she watches the fizzing bubbles of the liquid slowly appear and disappear, she notices the book Alana had thrown away in the trash can by the desk. She digs it out, smoothing a hand over the creases. It was a book of baby names, the very same book Margot had purchased for her years ago when she was expecting with Theo.

She cradles the book close to her chest, nostalgic emotion washing over her. With a heavy sigh and a new flash of determination, she puts the book away in her desk and gets back to working on her potion.

Margot tiptoes her way into the master bedroom, making out the outline of her wife’s sleeping body in the dim moonlight from the window. She walks carefully over to the bed, trying to avoid all the squeaky floorboards as she gently settles next to Alana’s warm body. She’s grateful the other woman appears to already be asleep, maybe she won’t be bombarded with questions as to why she was just now getting into bed at such an unusually late hour.

The silk sheet getting ripped away from her body knocks that wish out of the park. Margot sighs heavily as Alana flicks on the lamp on her bedside table, turning her head over on the pillow to meet Alana’s narrowing eyes.

“Hi,” Margot offers softly, reaching a hand up to stroke the exposed skin of Alana’s arm.

The other woman allows this for a moment, before propping her head up by her palm. “Margot, this is the third time in a row. What on earth are you doing? I know it’s not all work because you only have skype meetings in the day. I’m your wife and you know you can tell me anything, what are you doing in there that requires you to finally go to bed at 3 AM?”

Margot widens her eyes, she hadn’t realized it had gotten that late. “Nothing! Well, it is something but it’s nothing bad,” Margot explains, Alana’s narrowing eyes and eyebrows raised questioning show that she is clearly not buying the heiress’s excuse.

Margot sighs again, closing her eyes and rubbing a few fingers in soothing circles on her left temple. She spent all night memorizing spells and potion ingredients that she was beginning to form a headache.

Suddenly, her upper body is gently pulled up so she can lean her back against Alana’s front, allowing herself to be held by Alana. She drapes her arm over her wife’s left hip as the older woman presses comforting kisses from her hairline to her left temple.

“Well, you sure know how to get a girl to talk,” Margot murmurs teasingly, loving the feeling of Alana’s warm embrace.

“After spending nearly seven years together and having a child together, I would hope you would have some trustworthy feelings about me,” Alana says, a bit melancholy and detached.

 Margot raises her head up to meet the blue eyes above her. “You know I trust you. I just….wanted to be sure about…this.”

Alana raises her eyebrows. “Sure about what exactly?”

Margot takes a deep breath before diving into the truth. “You just seemed so upset after that doctor’s appointment the other day and I know you are so sick of needles and stupid hormone treatments that aren’t doing anything for you or the future of our baby. So I…made you my own treatment,” Margot explains, searching blue eyes for any sense of understanding.

Alana’s eyes flicker all over the younger woman’s face, studying her wordlessly and processing her words. “As long as I don’t come out of this covered in black fur, I’m willing to try it,” Alana agrees after a few beats of silence, tucking a strand of brown hair behind Margot’s ear.

Margot grabs her hand before she can pull it away, searching her eyes for sincerity. “Really? Are you sure?”

“I trust you. I know you won’t hurt me,” Alana says, resting her cheek against the top of the other woman’s head. Margot sighs happily and tightens her hold around her wife’s waist.

She shifts her head down on the silent stomach, smiling to herself knowing there will definitely be a heartbeat inside soon. “I would never. I love you, both of you,” she states, moving Alana’s large cotton t-shirt up so she can kiss her barren stomach.

“Aren’t we missing something though?” Alana asks, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

Margot’s head perks up again, curious as to what her wife means. “We’ll have to actually make the baby,” Alana murmurs in a breathy tone, sitting up so she can straddle her wife.

Margot’s lips upturned in a flirtatious smirk. “I must’ve missed that part in my potions book,” she purrs as their lips meet.

 

* * *

 

 

Alana awakes the next morning to a cold and empty bed, slightly surprised that she was naked, but smiles when remembers what caused the lack of clothes after the previous night’s events. She toys with the edges of her wife’s pillow, inhaling her leftover scent as she processes the information Margot shared with her a few hours ago.

She trusted her wife, she knew Margot would never put her life in danger or intentionally harm her. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a little nervous over Margot’s potion creation, but Alana understood how invested the witch-in-training was with her potion work and spells so she knew she would be okay.

She shifts her hands to skim over her bare stomach, her mind filled with the thought of a new child that could very well be in there soon. Margot’s potion skills were becoming very good, but were they _that_ good? With a strong enough fertility spell to produce a child from Alana’s ancient eggs?

What if her potion did work? That would just add another person she loved to the list of people Alana would have to worry about. With Hannibal presumed dead for nearly a year now, she still found herself some nights jolting awake with nightmares and looking over her shoulder in every outdoor social family outing, even in the presence of security guards.

Rolling over in the sheets, Alana sighed a little as she gave a final pat to her tummy and got up to find clothes for the day.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Margot greets her as she approaches the kitchen table over a hearty platter of fruits and pancakes, Theo munching happily on his own pancake face he has decorated with berries.

“Morning, honey. Hey nice skull face, buddy!” Alana says proudly over her son’s shoulder, examining his pancake creation. He has used blackberries for the black hollow eyes and vanilla yogurt for the bone color. After pressing a kiss to both her son and wife’s cheeks, she heads over to grab a cup of coffee from the pot.

She hears Margot get up from her seat and smiles as she feels familiar arms wrap around her waist. “Want any cream with that coffee, Mrs. Verger-Bloom?”

“That depends. What kind?” Alana tosses back with a flirty smile over the rim of her coffee mug. She notices what her wife is talking about when she opens the fridge door up for her, the lavender-colored potion in a clear vial on the top shelf.

The older woman purses her lips, eyes flickering from the potion back to curious green eyes. Margot senses her hesitation and grabs the gallon of milk instead, shutting the fridge door with her foot. Alana accepts the milk graciously, turning away from her wife’s watchful eye.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It won’t hurt my feelings, I promise,” Margot murmurs quietly, hugging Alana from behind.

As her mind rolls with thoughts and a few worries about the situation, Alana feels something warm and soft drag next to her left ankle and turns around to see Salem rubbing his head against her bare skin. Margot looks down at Alana, their slight height difference allowing her to take in pure blue eyes. “I still want to. Let’s do it tonight.”

Their attention is shifted back over to their son as he not-so-sneakily feeds his apple slices to Applesauce under the table, causing both mothers to smile. Alana walks over to the table and picks him up to take his seat, placing her son in her lap.

“You should try feeding her applesauce. That’s why I named her that, she loves it,” Alana explains to her child, dipping a spoon into her portion of the liquefied apples and holding it to the dog’s nose. Applesauce accepts it gratefully, causing Theo to bury his face into his mother’s neck with infectious giggles.

“Or we could try feeding the dog, I don’t know, actual dog food?” Margot suggests light-heartily, a smile still etched on her face from witnessing the adorable interaction. As Margot watched her wife and son, all her worries seemed to dissipate from her mind. She _knew_ this would work.

 

* * *

 

 

That night in the library, Alana allows herself to be held in a cozy embrace by her wife, just the two of them all cuddled up in front the library fireplace on the red leather couch as Margot plays with her hair. “Find any gray ones?”

Margot clucks her tongue disapprovingly, pressing a kiss to her hairline. “Shush. There’s not a single gray hair on your gorgeous head. Even if there was, you’d still take my breath away,” Margot answers truthfully. Alana's cheeks flush with warmth over her wife’s sweet words as Margot shifts so she can look at the other woman.

“Do you want me to-“ Margot trails off, tracing comforting little patterns in the skin of Alana’s shoulders.

“Yes please,” Alana says, voice confident. Her worries had vanished earlier as Margot thoroughly explained all the details of her potion and the history of fertility spells.

Margot nods, giving a reassuring kiss to Alana’s bare lips, clean of the day’s lipstick. “I’ll be right back,” she promises as she gets up to dash downstairs for the potion.

Alana gets up slowly from the couch to pace around the Oriental rug, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. She felt like a virgin on their wedding night, a little bit nervous yet excited of the unknown. She couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of another child, a baby. Margot and hers, _theirs_. A sibling for Theo. She desperately hoped for this to work, Margot seemed very confident that it would when she explained the ingredients to Alana just moments ago.

Before she knew it, the heiress returns with the vial in her hand and a warm yet anxious smile. Alana meets her by the door, hugging her tightly. “Are you okay? We definitely do not have to do this if you don’t want to. I won’t be upset or anything, I promise,” Margot assures her, walking them back over to the couch and wrapping her free arm around her wife.

“I’m sure. I want to do this. I believe in you,” Alana says, her voice unwavering with sincerity.

Margot presses a firm kiss to her lips, bringing her hand up to cradle her jaw and rubbing her cheek with her thumb. “I really don’t deserve you. Here, take your time. It will be fine. You will be fine,” Margot promises, passing the vial over to the other woman.

Alana takes it and studies it, watching with fascination as the bubbles float around the smooth lavender-colored liquid. She taps the cork, pursing her lips as she feels Margot’s eyes on her. “How’s it going to taste?” Alana asks, only half-curious and wanting to find a topic to make Margot less tense.

“It should taste fine, I made sure of that. If anything, it might taste a bit like a fruit tea. I can grab some honey for you to improve the taste if you’d like.” Margot remembered Alana took honey with most of her teas.

Alana shakes her head, popping the cork off quickly. She looks down the vial, the fruity scent strong in her nose. “Cheers,” Alana attempts to joke, chugging the small vial’s contents quickly.

Margot’s eyes widen, she hadn’t expected Alana to be so enthusiastic. Alana smacks her lips a little, processing the flavor. _Hm. Not bad_ , Alana thinks.

“So?” Margot asks, taking her wife’s hands and holding them to her lips, her arched eyebrows raised expectantly.

Alana rolls her shoulders a little and flexes her muscles of her arms. She pulls her legs out from under her and stretches, making sure all her joints worked despite the bits of steel holding her lower body together of course. “I feel okay. Do I look okay?” Alana asks, studying her skin for any physically flaws.

Margot studies her, flipping over her palms and running her hands up and down Alana’s arms. “Appears so,” Margot mutters, doing an once-over on the lower half of her wife’s body.

“So does this mean it worked?”

“Not quite. We’ll have to use a sample and then get the results. I can only hope this improved and strengthened your eggs,” Margot explains, taking the empty vial out from the other woman’s hands and gets up to put it back in her potion desk drawer. The younger woman allows herself to stand at the window for a brief moment of contemplation. Her creation might actually work. She didn’t hurt Alana. Alana was willing to do this for their child. She closes her eyes as she touches the windowpane, slightly cold from the leftover winter chill from outside.

Alana holds her from behind, perching her head on Margot’s shoulders. “We’ll have a winter baby,” she notes, studying the melting snow on the lawn. Margot closes her eyes, blissfully happy that Alana is already thinking about the future birth of their second child. She could only hope that the insemination appointment goes smoothly the next few days.

 

* * *

 

 

Margot’s leg couldn’t stop jiggling, her knees bouncing up and down anxiously. Alana rests a comforting hand over her wife’s knees, meeting nervous eyes with a warm smile. “We will be okay.”

Margot takes her hand from her knee and presses a quick kiss to the pale knuckles _. I hope so_ , Margot thinks.

Eventually, time is up and Alana gets up from their bed to look at the tiny pregnancy test stick resting on their vanity. Margot pulls herself up from the pillows, pushing herself forward to the bottom edge of the bed to be closer to her wife.

She watches, as if time was moving at a snail’s pace, as Alana picks up the test and turns it over to read the screen. Alana’s blue eyes widen with surprise but her exclaim is with full of glee.

She barely offers a glance in Margot’s direction before turning around and pushing herself onto Margot’s awaiting body on the bed.

“Oomph, hi there. Both of you?” Margot asks, hopefully trailing off the last part.

Alana nods excitedly, pushing the positive pregnancy test into her wife’s hands. Alana settles herself comfortably on top of Margot’s body, a protective arm wrapping around her middle. The other woman can’t look away from the little pink plus, proving the fate of their child. Margot meets her wife’s lips in a kiss, hard with passion and pride that shifts to a soft linger of a kiss, comforting and familiar.

“Should we tell Theo that he will be expecting a brother or sister?” Margot asks when they break apart for air, resting a hand to Alana’s non-existent protruding stomach.

“I want to be sure, I don’t want to let him down. I’ll make an appointment for tomorrow,” Alana says, her eyes still shining with excitement as she locks eyes with her wife and the mother of her child. Both of them.

 

* * *

 

 

Margot loved Sunday mornings. She never knew just how simply comforting it could be to just cuddle up with her family in pajamas, basking in the dawn of a new week. Theo was tucked in-between them, the four-poster bed allowed for plenty of space but he loved staying super close to his mothers. Margot holds him even closer to her, running her fingers through his light brown hair that looked so much like her own. She couldn’t help but wonder what their next child would look like. She hoped the baby took after Alana mostly, perhaps with Alana’s dark hair. She would love their child endlessly though, no matter what he or she looked like.

“Hey Theodore, guess what?” Alana asks, poking a finger to the boy’s belly.

“What mommy?” he asks, curious now. He knew it was something big because Alana only used his full name for important things.

“What do you think about having a new baby brother or sister?” Alana proposes, smiling down at her wife and child from the pillows. Margot grins back, squeezing her son even closer with excitement.

She still couldn’t believe the news. Just two days ago, they had visited the doctor just to be sure and it was true, the Verger-Bloom dynasty was growing. Their doctor assured Alana that while she was a bit older than most expecting mothers, her eggs were there and ready for life. Alana made sure Margot knew how grateful she was for her fertility potion when they got back to the car, causing Margot to smile so big her cheeks hurt.

Her thoughts are interrupted with loud squeals and shouts of excited exclamations. “Really?” he asks, clutching onto Alana’s pajama shirt.

Alana nods solemnly, wrapping an arm around the boy’s little body.

“Are you excited?” Margot asks their son, snuggling closer into her wife’s shoulder as Theo shifts to sit on bed in the middle of the mothers.

“Yes! Can the baby come now?” he pleads, poking a gentle finger to his other mother’s tummy, prompting a laugh from Alana.

“I wish,” Margot murmurs, pressing a kiss to his little hand.

Alana looks on with pride as Theo talks excitedly all about the new baby with Margot looking just as excited. She hoped these next nine months will fly by, desperate to hold the new member of the Verger-Bloom family.


	9. the new addition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alana ponders about the future and possible gender of the new member of the Verger-Bloom family with Margot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am way too excited to write about the next Verger-Bloom child so Alana's gonna have a speedy quick pregnancy because I'm the boss and I say so. :) Expect a time jump in the next chapter with a bunch of family cuteness.

The first few months of Alana’s second pregnancy seems to fly by in a positive flurry, a permanent joy etched in her features. Margot comments on this often, calls it her infectious pregnancy glow. For those first few hard months back when they were trying for Theo, Alana could tell Margot was distraught she couldn’t help or relate. Alana tries to remind her how beautifully feminine and womanly she finds her by paying a little more attention to her scar on her lower stomach and massaging her breasts in acts of passion.

Now, Margot always beams at her pregnant wife, she can’t stop stroking her stomach and pressing tons of kiss to the taunt skin. Alana thinks she does this more often now than she did with Theo, if that was even possible. Alana adores these little proclamations of love for both her and their unborn child, and makes sure Margot is aware just how grateful she is for being there for her.

Even now, cuddled up on the living room couch with their son in Alana’s lap, as Margot cradles her swollen feet and gently massages the pain away. The Verger-Bloom family was currently watching Beetlejuice, a favorite of Theo’s, as Alana starts to feel sleep wash over her.

“Mommy, you’re gonna miss the best part,” Theo insists, shaking her arm a little. Alana hums and grumbles in acknowledgement, only fully waking up when Margot abruptly stops her foot rub session, opening her eyes and mouth with a whimper.

“Yeah Alana, it’s the best part,” Margot agrees teasingly, shaking Theo’s little arms with her own as the last scene of Beetlejuice plays with the gothic teenager, Lydia, dancing in mid-air to “Jump in Line”.

The older woman can’t help but giggle at the sight when the idea hits her: _their daughter should be named Lydia._

Of course, the mothers still have not learned the gender of their unborn child but Alana had an inkling. She just felt and knew in her heart that this child would be a girl.

Alana mentally tests the name out, imagining little scenarios. _Calling Lydia down the stairs for dinner. Children meeting her by name on the playground at the end of their road. Hearing her name at her high school graduation._ Alana is sucked out of her little mental transfixion with Margot shifting her feet out of her lap to get up and turn the movie off.

“Alright T, time for bath time and then bed,” Margot announces, picking him up with ease and carrying him up the stairs. She can hear the water running in the bathroom closest to her son’s bedroom.

She tries to get up to help her wife bathe their son but the couch proves to be way to comfortable, her back had been straining with pain all day. She was usually seated when dealing with patients but as she was approaching her fourth month of pregnancy, she had been debating closing her psychiatry practice for the time being.

She much preferred to help tutor Theo, who was now homeschooling. Margot wanted their son to get the authentic in-school kindergarten experience, but Alana was still hesitant about it. Hannibal has been presumed dead for a full year now, the few phone conversations she’s had with Jack confirming her former colleague feels the same way. The feeling of dread. Fear of his lingering promise. Alana is prepared at every turn, she has evacuation plans (three to be exact, all with unique different locations. Just in case). Theo seems to have no problem with the homeschooling situation, he sees his neighborhood friends at the local playground and for occasional playdates. Alana doesn’t want to smother her son, she wants him to be a normal and happy child. He appears to be and that is all she wanted with the family’s sudden move to Westfield.

She thinks about the past year spent at the house she has come to love as she smooths a hand up and down her stomach, slightly extended but not nearly as huge as she will come to be in the next few months. She feels a slight kick to her right side and smiles. “Lydia, Lydia, Lydia. How does that sound?” Alana coos to her belly, rubbing a hand on her right side.

She feels another kick and grins. “Hopefully your other mother loves it too,” she sighs, mustering up her strength to get up from the comfortable couch.

She walks into the small guest bathroom just as Margot is drying their son off as he rambles off on the new mathematical problems he has learned that day. Alana grins with pride over her son’s fast ability to learn new topics, picturing him winning awards for his future inventions and ideas.

“Sorry for missing bath time,” Alana apologizes into a quick peck to her wife’s temple as she helps Theo into his pajamas. Once dressed, Theo hopping over to his racecar bed, Margot holds back for a moment and skims her hands up and down her wife’s sides.

“That’s okay. We can have our own bath time later,” she promises with a wink. The mothers tuck their son in for bed with the usual kiss to each cheek, one for each mother.

Margot skips happily to their master suite, preparing their bath. Alana grins to her wife’s back, loving the sight of her wife so happy and carefree. When she had first met the woman, who had a mask and many walls built up, rightfully so, she would have never thought she would see the day where she would bask in the sight of the younger woman skipping with glee. Then again, they were no longer tied over by the disgusting cloud of Mason Verger.

Maybe now, Alana could indulge in a carefree world like her family. Hannibal is dead. He is _dead_. He fell off a cliff, probably way more stories than she did years ago _. He is dead_. Alana tries to tell herself this over and over, Margot gently insisting this constant anxiety isn’t good for herself or her family. Because Margot just wants her to be happy, _they both deserve that_ , she insists.

Even now, Margot is showing just how deserving of love and happiness as she prepares their bath. Alana studies her wife’s back, currently facing her as Margot fiddles with the jet levels of the Jacuzzi tub. Alana doesn’t care, any speed of the water jets work wonders on her aching spine. She takes in the view, Margot’s shoulder blades flexing under scarred skin, the pale pink and red hues of puffed skin fading a bit with age. Alana shifts her focus to the delicate dip of her spine, aching to trace a finger down it. She does so, watching the water roll down the skin, eliciting a little shiver from the woman.

“You’re so beautiful,” Alana murmurs, shifting forward a bit to gently tug the other woman’s body back to press a kiss to her shoulder.

The heiress shifts her head, straining over her shoulder for her lips to meet her wife’s. “I beg to differ. Have you seen yourself lately?” Margot asks, taking advantage of her wife’s shifted position so she can slide in behind Alana. She wraps her legs around the other woman, her breasts meeting Alana’s back.

She moves her arms under the water so she can gently cradle Alana’s slightly large stomach. “Both of you are stunning,” Margot proclaims, pressing light kisses to Alana’s shoulder all the way to the nape of her neck.

Alana hums happily as Margot grabs a cup from the Theo’s nearby toy bucket outside the tub, pouring water over Alana’s long dark hair, shielding her eyes with a hand.

“She is, isn’t she?” Alana sighs happily, running a hand under the water to cradle the underside of her stomach.

Her wife pauses her movements, setting the cup down and brushing the wet hair away from Alana’s eyes. “A girl?”

Alana shifts her lower body underwater, Margot helping her. “I think so. I just have a feeling,” Alana admits with a smile.

Margot grins back, her arms winding around the other woman’s wet shoulders. “A daughter. Miss Verger-Bloom,” Margot murmurs, toying the words and titles in her mouth.

“A sister for Theo,” Alana notes, slipping a hand into wet brunette tresses. “What do you think she’ll look like?” Alana asks after a few beats of comfortable silence, curious onto what her wife’s input on the physical characteristics their future daughter may have.

 Margot sighs happily, her forehead resting on the side of Alana’s neck, both hands sliding down to the large stomach between them. “I’m not sure. What do you think?” Margot admits, moving her head to the side to kiss Alana’s neck.

“I don’t know. She’ll be stunning no matter what, I’m sure,” Alana answers in a happy sigh.

“I want her to look more like you,” Margot admits after a moment, pressing more deliberate kisses to the slick skin of the other woman’s neck, Alana arching it against the tub’s headrest for Margot to have more access.

“Oh really? Like what exactly?” Alana inquires, half curious and half teasing, loving the current mood the younger woman was in.

She feels the heiress grin into her neck, teeth meeting plush and slick flesh. “I want her to have your pretty little facial features, like this jaw of yours that I’m pretty sure can cut through glass,” Margot murmurs, pressing little kisses from her neck to the underside of Alana’s prominent jaw.

“And?” Alana asks, tightening her grip around her wife’s waist underwater.

“Your teeth,” Margot admits in a breathy tone, prompting a confused look from Alana.

“My teeth?” the older woman asks, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. As she has her mouth open, Margot takes advantage of this and presses a long open mouth kiss to Alana’s lower lip, sucking on her bottom row of slightly crooked teeth to prove her point. Alana’s top row of teeth grazes Margot’s top lip, meeting it for a sweet kiss.

“You have cute teeth,” the heiress states with a smile but Alana accepts the compliment gratefully.

“Never heard that one before. But please go on to tell me how gorgeous our daughter will be,” Alana orders, leaning back into the soothing jets as Margot leans up against her front gently, not using her full weight.

“I want her to have your hair,” Margot says, smoothing a hand down the wet tresses of dark hair, appearing almost black due to the water.

“I agree. I think Theo gets his hair from you,” Alana muses, playing with the wet ends of her wife’s hair. She moves her hands down to her wife’s biceps, gently flexing the muscles hidden beneath soft skin there. “Wow,” Alana breathes, marveling at how hard the muscles are, completely hidden by beauty.

Margot smirks smugly. “Have you picked up weightlifting again?” the older woman asks, suddenly remembering her wife’s old hobby back when they were dating.

“More like child-lifting. You birthed a chunky little child,” Margot muses, hands smoothing over Alana’s stomach to think about the next chunky child. Alana still remembers the numbers by heart. _Nine pounds, seven ounces, and twenty-two inches_. She wonders what the next baby’s numbers will be.

“Why all about me? Don’t you want our little girl to have some of your gorgeous genes?”

Margot merely shrugs, “I suppose so. I don’t care either way, I’ll love her just the same,” Margot states, adjusting her head on her wife’s shoulder.

“Personally for me, I’d love it if she has your eyes. I love them,” Alana admits truthfully, stroking a hand up and down Margot’s back, the other woman smiling into Alana’s warm shoulder.

“Got any genetic spells?” the older woman asks, only joking but a little curious too. She had only cracked open her wife’s potion book a few times but was still at a beginner’s level in that regard.

“Yes I’m sure I do, but I’d prefer to let nature decide what genes our child will have.”

Alana hums an agreement. “As do I. Now let’s hope my gut feeling doesn’t let us both down,” Alana says as the other woman helps her out of the tub, complaining about her pruned skin.

“Son or daughter, I don’t care. All that matters to me is that this child is ours,” Margot murmurs happily, pausing to drop little kisses to her wife’s protruding stomach as she helps dry her off.

_“Ours,”_ Alana sighs happily, as Margot helps slip on her pajamas for her.


	10. the promise of forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alana's lingering worries of Hannibal's promise dies due to her wife being a complete badass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da, this weird little series comes to an end! I thought number ten was a good final number to end on, I just didn't have the time or energy to see it drag on any further. I'm happy with the Gothic goddess's little ending and I hope you all are too. I appreciate anyone who left a comment, prompt, kudos, or just simply decided to click on this and read a sentence. You are all super cool. <3

What a strange feeling it is to be the one to know all the possible outcomes as the participates haven’t a clue, Alana notes, as she watches from afar as her children play in the garden maze in the backyard. Margot had enlisted the help of the world’s finest gardeners and architects to construct a maze for the backyard, complete with many unique animals sculpted from lush garden bushes which delighted their children. The maze’s walls, decorated with fresh white roses, was supported by a hidden brick wall, due to their home being built on a hill targeted by harsh wind.

She thinks of her children, Theo now eight years old and her daughter, Lydia, now three years old. Her offspring, her _legacy_ , chasing in twists and corners, on a minuscule plot of life, completely unaware of the locations of the dead ends.

She had a nightmare just the other night, coming home to Hannibal with a satisfied little quirk of a smile, as he licks the blood of her family off his boney, entitled little fingers. She can’t help but still be hounded by his promise, he _always_ keeps his promises, and she tortures herself with waking up to horrible different outcomes the monster of a man decides to end the lives of the people she loves the most.

Margot had been awoken by her nightmare that night, Alana always found herself slick with sweat and gasping for breath, turning in Margot’s awaiting and patient arms to comfort her. “I’ve got you. I won’t ever leave you,” Margot murmurs softly into her ear, smoothing her hair away from frantic blue eyes.

Alana used to find herself desperately trying to believe her wife’s words, wordlessly searching within Margot’s emerald orbs in the dead of night. This time, her chaotic breath and heartbeat slowing down as her wife comforts her, she fully believes her.

What Alana doesn’t know, is that Margot has already come to peace with her killing of Hannibal Lecter.

 The heiress was comforted with the fact that both men, Hannibal and Will, had fallen to their demise off a dangerously high cliff all those years ago. She still knew, deep in her heart, that if Hannibal were to complete his lingering promise of death somehow, she would defend her family no matter what.

And Alana thought _she_ was the protective one.

Not to say that Alana’s protective nature isn’t appreciated, Margot loves her wife’s protective side, whether it be when her son teeters over the edge as he walks across the neighborhood playground’s monkey bars, Alana swooping in and catching him before he hurts himself. Or when Lydia falls and scraps her knee as she plays hopscotch, Alana assuring their daughter over how strong and brave she is for her injury, as she presses a kiss to the bandaged knee.

As Margot tightens her grip around Alana’s waist, her wife curling into her warm and comforting body as sleep succumbs over her once again, Margot smiles to herself as her brain racks over all the ways she would take down whatever pathetic plan Dr. Lecter would use against Alana and possibly, her family.

She _does_ know how to shoot a gun, her childhood upbringing offered one useful life skill. One perk of being an observant and introverted child, was watching from her bedroom window as her father teach Mason how to shoot and reload a gun, sighing a little sadly as her nanny braided her hair.

She can’t even remember the last time she actually had the opportunity to shoot a gun. The last time she remotely even touched one was grabbing onto Mason’s, avoiding his bullet’s aim for the woman she loves. She remembered seeing that same gun at the bottom of his eel pit when the coroner came to collect his body. Once Alana officially moved in and they started redecorated the Verger mansion, Margot had the eel tank pumped and removed entirely, turning the room into a guest bedroom instead.

Before falling back to sleep, her cheek settling comfortably on top of Alana’s silky hair, she thinks about taking her wife out for a date at the shooting range. Just for practice.

 

* * *

 

 

Alana sits at her vanity after dinner, excusing herself from the family’s daily night walk around the property with a kiss to Margot’s lips, a ruffle to her son’s hair, and a kiss to Lydia’s cheek, as she trudged through the crunchy autumn leaves back to the main house.

Now, as she stares back at her reflection, she takes in her aging appearance. A few gray hairs here and there, she plucks a few of the noticeable ones away just to give her nervous fingers something to do.

She sees a few facial wrinkles now as she wipes away the day’s makeup. As she was approaching forty-five years old, she accepts the marks of age on her body. Alana wonders if this is the last image she and her family will have of herself or if she will live long enough to see her whole head of hair turn entirely gray.

_Stop it. He is dead_ , Alana mentally reminds herself. Margot has been patient with Alana all these years, always reminding her and comforting her that they will be okay. Hannibal Lecter is and always will be _dead._

With a heavy sigh, Alana pushes herself up from the vanity bench and walks over to the bedroom window overlooking the expanse of the yard. The maze really was impressive, she smiles to herself as she watches her son and daughter help each other find the end of the maze.

She searches for her wife in the maze, the yard being illuminated with the soft glow of the antique lampposts surrounding the property. She spots a larger body near the children in the maze, panic arising for a moment, until she feels familiar arms wrap around her waist.

“That would be Jonathon, the head of security for this household, my love,” Margot murmurs into her ear, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

The older woman sighs heavily, allowing her weight to be cradled in her wife’s arms. “You must want to pull your hair out because of me,” Alana muses dully, Margot rocking her body gently as they watch their children from the window.

“Well, in an entirely different situation, you are absolutely right,” Margot purrs teasingly into her ear, biting on Alana’s ear lobe gently.

Alana fights a blush as she taps a little playful smack onto the back of Margot’s hand. “You know what I mean. My constant worrying even though we probably have more security here than the fucking Pentagon,” Alana mutters, pulling away to sit down on the leather ottoman at the bottom of their king-sized bed, dropping her head into her hands.

Margot doesn’t join her immediately, still standing by the window to watch as Lydia, who can now walk without the help of her brother’s hand, finish the maze before her brother. Margot grins with pride as she watches Jonathon escort them back to the main house.

“I’m fairly certain the Pentagon has dozens of underground tunnels amongst other things. Would it make you feel better if we had one of those?” Margot asks as she joins her wife on the ottoman, a little curious. They could certainly afford to build one.

Alana raises her head from her hands, eyes narrowing. “I thought this was the part where you tell me over and over that Dr. Lecter is dead,” Alana says, locking eyes with Margot.

Margot shifts an arm around the back of the ottoman, resting her hand on Alana’s right hip. “That’s getting a bit redundant. I would think my healing advice and expertise wouldn’t really stick with you. You out of everyone must know a thing or two about one’s healing process,” tapping a finger to the psychiatrist’s nose. She tries making her playful mood infectious, to make her wife stop thinking about the monster of her past.

“We all heal different, I suppose. I think… I know deep down he is dead, he has to be. It’s just…his promise. His words. I can’t make them go away,” Alana admits, her voice breaking a little at the end.

“Words are just words. I’ve learned they’re completely meaningless if one isn’t able to act out on them,” Margot muses, moving her hand at Alana’s hip to rub little circles onto her back. Alana grabs onto her other free hand, their fingers intertwining instantly.

“Take these words for example: I love you,” Margot states, her lips meeting the other woman’s for a gentle kiss, their intertwined fingers still locked together at Alana’s lap.

As Margot pulls away, she brings her wife’s left hand up, the jewel of Alana’s engagement ring shimmering. “I want to be with you, forever. We’re in this together,” Margot promises, pressing a kiss to the inside of Alana’s palm.

“And if anybody were to ever try to hurt you or our family, they’d have to get through me before they even tried to touch you or our children,” Margot promises, her green eyes locking with Alana’s blue.

Margot meets her wife’s smile before her attention is brought to the loud clank on their wooden door, Lydia has decided to use Applesauce as a means of transportation. Alana laughs at the sight, picking up her daughter once Applesauce comes closer to her.

Theo comes into the room with Salem cradled in his arms, taking a spot next to his mothers on the ottoman. “Please don’t say you all have decided to have a giant sleepover in our bed,” Margot pleads, Theo giggling into her hair.

“Let’s move this party elsewhere, like your own rightful chambers for instance,” Alana agrees, both children sighing in defeat as they walk back to their bedrooms, both pets trailing behind them.

The mothers focus their attention more on Lydia due to her inability to care for herself unlike Theo, but they both don’t go to bed without kissing both children’s cheeks and making sure they are tucked into bed safely and loved.

“We love you Lydia,” Alana assures her daughter, brushing her dark curls back that resembled Alana’s own so much.

“I love you too,” she says, reaching up to hug Alana’s neck, causing both mother’s heart to swell at the sight. Margot tucks the girl’s white plush teddy bear into the sheets with her, once Lydia has kissed her other mother’s cheek. They follow the same routine with Theo in his bedroom, his room altering a bit with age. He doesn’t have his racecar bed anymore and most of his old toys were either donated to charity or passed down to his sister but both mothers are still able to give him a kiss on the cheek and he willingly returns it, despite most eight year old boys.

Once both children and the family pets are asleep in their appropriate rooms, the ladies of the house embark on their own little walk around the property before the sun fully sets. “What time is it?” Alana asks, as they enter the mouth of the garden maze.

Margot checks the leather band watch on the wrist of her free arm, not occupied by Alana’s. “A little after eight. Has anyone ever told you that you should relax? Take your time with things?”

Alana bites her lip, trying to smother her smile as she tries to narrow her eyes at her wife. “I’ve heard it a few times,” she answers as they stroll through the maze. They are silent for most of their journey, the only noise coming from the click of Alana’s cane against the brick path and the squeak of a bat in the night.

“You’d think I’d know my way out of this by now,” Alana mutters, reaching yet another dead end.

“I know where it is, I just want to keep you out here with me a little longer,” the younger woman says, grinning mischievously. Alana meets her wife’s green eyes, thinking for a moment how much they truly resemble Lydia’s, but returns the smile.

“You’re impossible,” she says, settling her back against an exposed brick wall of the maze, a few vines with roses hanging from them draping on the wall. She adjusts her cane against the path, resting most of her weight on it. Margot perches her arm on the wall of botany, taking advantage of their slight height difference to toy her fingers with the hair on the top of Alana’s head.

Margot drops her head to Alana’s neck, just breathing in her scent as Alana wordlessly studies the sky. The sun was nearly set now, the stars of the night taking effect. “What are you thinking about?” Margot asks, using her other hand to play with one of the many buttons of Alana’s coat. She used to hate hearing that question, thinking it was rudely intrusive. Now, here with the woman she loves, she wants to be able to fully relate and converse with the other woman.

Alana shifts her head slightly, Margot’s hair tickling the skin of her cheek. “Nothing in particular. Just enjoying how connected all the stars are,” Alana notes, tapping her ring finger against the metal of her cane handle.

“We should name our next pet after a constellation,” Alana muses, giggling when Margot groans.

“Another one?” she whines but Alana silences her with a kiss. “The last pet, Salem, was your own idea if I remember correctly,” the older woman states, Margot’s head slumping with defeat on Alana’s shoulder.

“Fine. You win this round Dr. Bloom,” the heiress says, pressing a kiss to the warm flesh of her wife’s neck.

Alana arches her head on the hard surface behind her head, giving more access to Margot. “Dr. _Verger_ -Bloom to you,” Alana says with a smile, tapping her wedding ring against the cane handle again as if her wife needed a reminder, she just loved teasing Alana with an old nickname.

“Isn’t this the coat I met you in?” Margot asks after a few moments of comfortable silence, moving her head out from Alana’s neck and looks down to observe her wife’s coat, hands skimming up and down her sides. She was sure it was, she’d always remember her wife in red.

“I believe so. Why so nostalgic all the sudden?” Alana asks amusedly, using her free hand to lift her wife’s head up by her chin.

Margot sighs happily before delivering her reply, wrapping an arm around the other woman’s waist and stepping a little closer. “I just like thinking about it. About us. Does it feel like it’s been nearly nine years together?” Margot asks, genuinely curious if time has moved as fast for her wife like it has for herself.

The other woman hums in agreement, her other hand not occupied by her cane to toy with the ends of brunette curls. “It has, in a way. A house, two children, and two pets later. We’ve come far haven’t we?”

Margot shifts her legs on both sides of Alana’s left thigh, settling comfortable there. “We have,” Margot agrees in a happy sigh, meeting Alana’s neck with little kisses.

“Speaking of nostalgia, I miss your pigtails,” Alana murmurs into her wife’s hair, tugging on the ends of it lightly to prove her point.

Margot pulls away from her wife’s neck, rolling her eyes fondly at the ridiculous comment. “I am so glad my wardrobe and hair choices improved upon meeting you,” Margot replies truthfully, returning her attention back to Alana’s neck.

“We bring out the best in each other, don’t we?” Alana asks breathlessly, her cane clattering to the brick path once she brings both hands to tangle into Margot’s hair, lips meeting hungrily for a kiss.

Without breaking contact with the other woman’s lips, Margot adjusts her foot, pressing on the bottom of the fallen cane, causing it to swing back up in the air.

She catches it and passes it to Alana. “Smooth,” Alana notes with a soft laugh, pushing herself off the brick wall and intertwining her hand with Margot’s, allowing the other woman to lead the way out of the maze.

“You forgot something,” Margot notes, picking a rose free from a vine and searching for any thorns before tucking it behind her wife’s ear.

“This goes against so many of my personal rules of fashion,” Alana says in mock shame.

Margot simply clicks her tongue, silencing the other woman with a laugh. “I’m sure you didn’t always wear your suits and your red lipstick. Hell, I bet you rarely even wore black,” Margot teases, wondering what her wife’s taste in clothes was like before they met.

“I didn’t. I was a lot different, I rarely even wore pants or lipstick. Lots of dresses mainly,” Alana explains, melancholy in tone.

The other woman hums, recalling a few of the dresses she helped Alana throw out once they moved in together. “Well, I’m certainly not complaining about the suits,” Margot murmurs knowingly, Alana returning her smirk once they reach the exit of the maze.

Alana turns back to look into the maze, the path nearly all black due to how late it was getting. “Told you we’d make it out. Me and you, together,” the younger woman says, bumping her hip a little into Alana’s side.

Intertwining their hands together once again, Alana sighs happily. “ _Together._ ”


End file.
